From: Department of Engineering and Works
Date: May 29, 1992
Economic Affairs Committee
INFORMATION
At its budget deliberation meeting of 1991 February 19/20, City Council directed that bicycle licensing be explored as a means to generate revenue to support initiatives within the Ottawa Cycling Plan. The Department's subsequent review of the matter indicated that, among other likely disadvantages, administrative and enforcement costs would far exceed any possible revenues. Consequently, at its meeting of 1991 July 3, City Council resolved that bicycle licensing should not be introduced.
During the course of the Department's development of the bicycle licensing report however a distinction was made between the licensing of bicycles in general and the licensing of bicycle couriers in particular. Both the Chairman of the Community Services and Operations Committee and the Ottawa Cycling Advisory Group expressed some interest in exploration of licensing bicycle couriers, not as a revenue-generating initiative but as a mechanism to promote safe cycling and compliance with the Highway Traffic Act (H.T.A.) as expected business practices.
The Department has concluded its study of the matter and, on the basis of its findings, does not propose to pursue the licensing of bicycle couriers further.
ANALYSIS
The use of bicycle couriers was developed by courier companies in response to the increase of vehicular congestion in the downtown core. That, together with parking restrictions, made delivering parcels by bicycle an economical and effective alternative to delivery vans or compact cars. Courier companies may have ten to fifteen cyclists registered as dependent contractors who provide a delivery service to the courier company. The work is so physically demanding that many do not continue for extended periods and staff turnover is more frequent than would be expected for drivers.
A study on the Safety of Bicycle Couriers prepared by the Societe de l'assurance automobile du Quebec on 1992 February 13 (and revised on 1992 April 8) noted that "typical risk behaviours of bike couriers consists above all in travel on sidewalks, riding against traffic on one-way streets and crossing against a red light. There is nothing to indicate, however that they act more recklessly than other cyclists using the downtown core of a city where vehicular and pedestrian traffic is heavy. It is reasonable to assume that their behaviour draws attention mainly because their clothing and bag (often bearing the company name or courier service logo) make them more visible...couriers probably have no more of a propensity for accidents per kilometre travelled than other bicycle riders; the difference in mishap rates between the two groups might well be statistically insignificant. For that reason, caution is advised in imputing accident risk to couriers in order to justify specific intervention targeting this type of road user." Those conclusions were based on information gathered from municipal authorities in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, New York and Washington, D.C. The accident statistics were obtained from Montreal and Seattle.
Concerns respecting the promotion of safe cycling and compliance were addressed by the Province on 1990 January 12 when the Highway Traffic Act was amended to require any cyclist to provide personal identification at the request of a Police Officer. The Police may lay charges on the basis of that identification for infractions under the Highway Traffic Act or any municipal by-law regulating traffic.
The Ottawa Police doubled their Police Bike Patrol in 1991 to eight (8) bicycles and fifteen (15) officers who operate on roadways and bike paths from May to October. Although the Bike Patrol is a full operational unit not exclusively directed to the cycling community, the Ottawa Cycling Advisory Group (O.C.A.G.) reports that the increased presence of the Police on City streets last spring appears to have resulted in an improvement in cycling behaviour, particularity in the downtown area.
The Department has on record six cycling complaints in 1991: three respected sidewalk riding; one, a collision with a pedestrian; one, n ill-mannered cyclist, and one a cyclist with no lights. With the exception of the ill-mannered cyclist, all complaints would have been violations of the H.T.A. and actionable by the Ottawa Police. The alleged violators were not identified by the complainants as bicycle couriers.
In summary, the notable presence of the Ottawa Bike Squad on City streets coupled with enhanced authority for the Police to request rider identification appears to have had a positive effect on cyclists' behaviour during the first year, and would be expected to increase effectiveness in subsequent years. Because no other benefits of licensing to either the public or the bicycle could be identified, it is not proposed to pursue the matter further at this time.
No Ontario municipality licenses bicycle couriers currently.
D.G. Curry Commissioner of Engineering And Works
Part II
Supporting Information
The Ottawa Cycling Advisory Group
O.C.A.G. concurs with the Department's finding and conclusions. In addition to the Department's analysis, O.C.A.G. expressed concern that the imposition of a licensing fee my discourage bicycle couriers in favour of small motor vehicles thus increasing congestion on City streets and contributing to environmental pollution.
The Ottawa Pedestrian Citizens Committee
The Ottawa Pedestrian Citizens Committee expressed concern about violations of the H.T.A. and believes that the licensing of bicycle couriers will improve identification.
The committee's comments are available in their entirety at Secretariat Services and Corporate Networking.
Staff Response
A licensing scheme would not address infractions of the H.T.A.. The Ottawa Police is, by statute, the enforcement body authorized to issue notices for such moving violations. Furthermore, the Department found no statistical evidence to support the opinion that bicycle couriers violate the H.T.A. with greater frequency than recreational cyclists.
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