FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
SURREY, BC — Mike Starchuk today pledged to give Surrey’s taxi drivers a break: allow taxis in bus lanes where and when it makes sense, lower licensing costs, and cut red tape so more drivers can operate and prices stay competitive.
For seniors, shift workers, parents with small kids, and people with accessibility needs, a cab can be the difference between going out or staying in. After the last bus, cabs often serve as the transit system.
Council asked staff to look at taxis in bus lanes in 2020. Six years and a new mayor later, it’s still decided lane by lane at City Hall. Imagine Surrey’s Mike Starchuk will open bus lanes to taxis wherever a cab won’t slow the bus and settle the rules for the King George Boulevard bus lanes before they’re built.
Imagine Surrey council candidate Perminder Chohan agreed, “as a business owner, I understand how hard our taxi drivers work to make ends meet. It’s time to give them a break.”
A Surrey driver needs a chauffeur’s permit from the police and the City on top of the province’s requirements, and drives home empty from Vancouver because Surrey cabs can’t pick up there. Ride-hailing got one licence for the whole region. Starchuk will cut the City’s fees and paperwork and back the Surrey Board of Trade’s call to scrap the taxi boundaries.
As the MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale during the pandemic, Starchuk worked hard to get taxi drivers and their companies the relief grants that kept them on the road.
“I worked nights in this city for more than 30 years, and the people on the road with me were cab drivers,” said Starchuk. “When COVID emptied the streets, I helped them get the grants that got them through it. A cab is a small business with a car payment that doesn’t stop when the fares do.”
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About Imagine Surrey
Imagine Surrey is a civic party running a full slate of candidates in the October 17, 2026 municipal election. Led by mayoral candidate Mike Starchuk – a former firefighter and Chief Fire Prevention Officer, former City Councillor, and former MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale – Imagine Surrey is committed to making Surrey the City of Champions by delivering: safe streets, fast commutes, smart investments, lower costs, and strong services.
Council candidates: Yousef Aldabainah-Barakat, Chandan Chahal, Perminder Chohan, Narima Dela Cruz, Ashiyana Hanif, William Li, Dr. Margaret Mubanda, and Kevin Wilkie.
Contact
Trevor Loke, Campaign Manager
604-838-5178
[email protected] / [email protected]