ANALYSIS: Smile! You’re (finally) on camera in Yellowknife cabs

“If people know there are cameras, it is likely both drivers and passengers will behave better.”

–  a respondent during a public engagement session

Interior security cameras in Canadian taxis started to be introduced in the late 1990s, primarily to protect driver safety, deter robberies, and resolve passenger disputes.

Through the 2000s, municipal governments and taxi fleets across Canada adopted these camera systems, as an option, or to complement, physical plastic shields to protect the drivers from violent passengers.

Decades later, the City of Yellowknife is mandating taxis to be equipped with in-vehicle security cameras and GPS technology by January 31st.

But in this jurisdiction, who are the cameras intended to primarily protect? Drivers or female passengers?

The tragic nighttime killing of Yellowknife taxi driver Ahmed Mahamud Ali in November 2018 profoundly impacted the local community and prompted his cab company to increase safety measures.

Ahmed Mahamud Ali, affectionately known as Uncle Ahmed, was a beloved, 73-year-old City Cab driver. He had escaped war-torn Somalia in the 1980s and drove a taxi for over 20 years, using his earnings to support orphans and community members back home.

The horrible story of his beating death — for which a father and son eventually were convicted for accessory to aggravated assault and manslaughter respectively — in part started the process that led to the City’s modernizing and replacing its Livery Licence By-law.

In part, as there were also continuing reports on social and mainstream media about some cab drivers being sexually aggressive with female fares — mostly Indigenous women — often in overnight drives after last call at bars.

In 2021, Northern News Services reported the experience of one woman who said a drive in a taxi left her feeling “scared and vulnerable.” She had subsequently taken to Facebook to warn others of the encounter.

It turned out she was not the only one who’s had a frightening ride.

Her original post, reported NNSL, quickly amassed 144 shares and more than 100 comments, some of them other women expressing solidarity for having had similar experiences.

In 2021, the Status of Women Council of the NWT conducted an online survey that collected over 500 reports of women feeling unsafe in Yellowknife taxis.

And during debate in early July over the proposed by-law update — “A robust proposal to see some sizeable change,” said City Manager Stephen Van Dine — Councillor Stacie Arden Smith said personal safety, “has become a huge problem, especially for my gender and my race.”

The Tłı̨chǫ woman (who, full disclosure, joined CKLB this summer and is not seeking re-election this fall) said everyone deserves to feel safe in a taxicab — even if “you’re getting in a cab at two in the morning from the Raven Pub, even though you’re inebriated.”

Councillor Arden Smith said she will not take a taxi in Yellowknife. “I would rather walk in minus-50 below weather, and try and make my way home rather than to jump in a cab … and I know there are many other people out there that would say the exact same thing.

“So I want to make sure that this new by-law protects everyone involved, and I want to make sure that people start feeling safe when they’re going into a cab once again.”

The new Taxi By-law No. 5143, will see some changes coming into effect as soon as November 30th, with others in the coming year.

The new by-law will, in part:

• Require taxis to be equipped with the above-mentioned approved in-vehicle security cameras and GPS technology.
• Require fares and driver’s licences to be clearly displayed inside taxis.
• Require each licensed taxi business have an accessible taxi available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Require vulnerable sector checks for drivers, in addition to the criminal record check currently required.
• Require taxi operators to maintain a formal complaint-management process so concerns from passengers can be received, documented and addressed.
• Allow for a $30 deposit to be requested by the driver of fares.
• Require drivers to communicate in English, unless a different language shared by the driver and passenger is requested by the passenger.
• Prohibit the use a cell phone while transporting a passenger, unless receiving a call from dispatch.
• Starting charge and first 150 metres remains at $4.70, with each additional 100 meters increasing one penny to $0.32 on January 1st 2027, and $0.33 one year later.

The City stated in a release that the changes are intended to “provide greater confidence for passengers and drivers, improve transportation options for residents with mobility needs, give drivers and taxi businesses clearer expectations, and create a more welcoming experience for all.”

City council also approved an Accessible Taxi Grant Program to support the conversion or acquisition of wheelchair-accessible taxi vehicles in Yellowknife.

“The new Taxi By-law will expand accessible transportation options in our community, giving people greater flexibility, choice and confidence in getting around Yellowknife,” said Mayor Ben Hendriksen.

“This is about creating a more inclusive, safe and accessible community for everyone.”

Yellowknife has three main local taxi companies: City Cab, Yellowknife Cabs, and Aurora Taxi.

There are 145 licensed taxis and 197 drivers. The Municipal Enforcement Division conducts approximately 199 taxi inspections per year.

The City does not set or limit the number of taxi licences that may be issued. Ride-sharing services are not allowed; that industry would likely be a territorial government licensing responsibility.

While that seems to be a lot of taxis for a city of 22,000 people, historically there are often not enough when flights arrive at the Yellowknife Airport.

From a Reddit post: “Usually when a plane comes the first people (could be ten, could be twenty) who can make it to the exit will get a taxi and the rest will have to wait until more taxis show up.”

But there are chronically overloaded taxi stands in the downtown area, with cabbies also taking up many nearby metered parking spots for breaks and naps.

In the public engagement sessions and online survey with the outside consultant several years ago, several responses called on the City to address poor driving and parking practices by taxi drivers.

Quite a few respondents also expressed concern about dirty interiors, unpleasant odours (including cigarette smoke), and insect pest risks.

Also in the Engagement Report in January 2025 from Yellowknife’s Roxane Poulin Consulting were these comments: “As a side note, there were a small, but noteworthy number of comments that came up throughout the survey responses that called on the City to investigate and address abusive, criminal or sexually inappropriate behaviours of taxi drivers.

“There were also suggestions for broader improvements to taxi services, to include criminal record checks for drivers. Said one respondent: ‘I’ve heard many stories about sexual harassment towards women using taxi services and suspicious/criminal activity that occurs in these taxis. Cameras would be very beneficial to lower these instances.’”

The City flexes its regulatory muscles with Accessible Taxi demands:

YKFlex is the City’s door-to-door service for registered users who are unable to board, ride, or disembark the fixed route transit system, “with safety and dignity” due to a temporary or permanent physical or functional disability.

It operates Mondays through Saturdays from 6:40 am to 7:10 pm, and does not operate Sundays and holidays.

So there are times when the public service is not available.

The Taxicab By-law consultant held a virtual by-law engagement meeting with the City’s Accessibility Advisory Committee in November 2024 to consider a private option.

Four city administration reps attended, outnumbering external committee members: “Lynda Koe (left early), Marine (?), Cor Vandyke Regrets: Committee Co-chair Denise McKee (NWT Disability Council)”

Stated the consultant’s report:

“This was a small but engaged group that started with three participants and dropped down to two after about 30 minutes. The proposed changes regarding accessible vehicles were strongly supported. While none of the participants had personal experience using accessible taxis in Yellowknife, all were in agreement it is very important for the City to ensure accessible taxis are available when people need them.”

As for the public survey response, nine people answered “yes” to the question: Do you or someone in your family require a wheelchair accessible vehicle?

As for their experiences with wheelchair accessible vehicles, which would be YKFlex’s predecessor, Yellowknife Accessible Transit System (YATS):

• Five respondents indicated negative or difficult experiences, mostly citing issues with availability. “Sometimes super easy to get sometimes impossible. Got to the point we just bought our own because it was easier”
• Two respondents’ comments were positive or neutral. “No concerns, they have been available when needed.”

In December 2024, the City announced, “the new YKFlex vehicle fleet officially begins service,” offering “increased comfort and safety.”

In addition to the YKFlex vehicles, in 2024 YKTransit introduced a new fleet of conventional buses, which are also wheelchair accessible.

Boasted the City in a release: “As of April 2024, for the first time in Yellowknife, all transit buses can accommodate passengers with reduced mobility.”

Two years later, City Administration told council: “There is strong support from the Accessibility Committee and the public for accessible vehicle service 24/7 as proposed. Committee members want to see residents with disabilities have similar access to taxi service as other residents.”

Of course, companies and drivers saw this as the City passing its responsibilities on to the taxi drivers with little recognition or compensation for the direct and indirect costs they will incur.

Stated company reps during consultations:

• “Why doesn’t the City’s YATS provide 24-hour/seven-day a week service?”
• “People have more complaints about the YATS bus than the taxis … people tell us they booked it for months and it doesn’t come. I don’t know why the City wants to put that burden on us.”
• “And the whole thing about trying to say it’s a human rights issue, they must also know that when we go out and work, it is also a human rights issue.”

City council’s push for private-sector accessible vehicle availability does come with a cost to taxpayers: Along with the new by-law, is a one-time $220,000 Accessible Taxi Grant Program, to support the conversion or acquisition of wheelchair-accessible taxi vehicles.

So, by November 30th, each of the three cab companies will have to ensure an accessible taxi is available 24 hours per day every day of the year.

There is no indication any substantial market study was done to identify the actual potential number of customers for a cab company accessible van.

Statistics Canada indicates 25.7% of the population aged 15 and older in the Northwest Territories reports having at least one disability.

So, while hundreds of residents could be managing mobility limitations in the city — and it is a difficult place to navigate during our long, dark winters — the exact number of daily wheelchair users, in particular, remains unquantified in public municipal or territorial data registries.

The City has provided 3,800 rides per year across its accessible fleet. That makes for roughly 73 rides a week, maybe 12 per operational day.

Three outstanding questions remain:

• How many wheelchair users or mobility challenged people each week will call a cab company on Sundays, holidays and overnight? One, two, a half-dozen?
• When YKFlex is operating, how many customers will use a handi-van from a private taxi company, whose driver may or may not have the training, or initiative, to provide completely safe and courteous service?
• Is this sort of substantive equality — providing specific services to specific groups to create true fairness — best provided by government, or the private sector?

“City Cab also used to have an accessible vehicle and we intentionally dropped it because of the costs. We have seen the way it is when it comes to getting drivers, maintenance of that vehicle, and also the business it generates … it’s not worth it.”

Top-line summary from Engagement Report with companies and drivers:

Drivers said they enjoy their jobs and serving their clients. Though they are dealing with more problem passengers than in the past, they said they have a positive relationship with the majority of their clients.

• Overall, the taxi drivers expressed concerns about the financial health of their industry and the need for the city to better understand the realities and costs they face in operating their businesses.
• Drivers are independent owner/operators who cover all their own expenses, companies do not own/rent vehicles. Many drivers use their taxis for personal use throughout the day.
• Companies explained that there are many extenuating circumstances that lead to taxis operating with body damage and dirty interiors, including the limited availability of services like car washes and body shops in Yellowknife.
• Many drivers cannot afford comprehensive insurance and pay for repairs out-of-pocket.
• It is harder it is to make a living driving taxi than it was in the past.

From the consultations: “Yellowknife has changed a lot. It is much harder to make a living and there are more issues with crime, vandalism, drugs and homelessness that are impacting drivers and increasing their risk.

“The taxi industry is also facing challenges from increased competition from other transportation services like hotel shuttles, which are cutting into their business, especially at the airport.

“Drivers want to be treated as professionals and people who care about their community and passengers.”