Towing By-law Amendments
Motion 8 · Standing Committee of Council on City Finance and Services, May 20, 2026
Summary
- Updates towing and impound fees to align with current ICBC schedules, reducing the fuel surcharge from 27% to 22% and adding an itemized administration fee.
- Towing operators and Teamsters Local 31 opposed the fuel surcharge reduction, arguing it does not reflect actual diesel costs and will reduce owner-operator income; they requested an increase to at least 32% or a monthly fuel adjustment mechanism.
- Several speakers and operators argued Vancouver should shift its rate benchmark from ICBC (designed for collision towing) to the provincial Motor Vehicle Act framework used by Burnaby and Richmond.
- A member of the public described repeated billing irregularities from the city's contracted tow provider; staff noted monitoring mechanisms are in place for tows initiated from public streets.
- Councillors Orr and Maloney voted in opposition; Councillor Meiszner abstained.
Vote
In favour 8
Opposed 2
Abstained 1
Public comments
Read all 1 statements
Transcript
24 segments
Yeah, so we have to move the motion first. Moved by Councillor Meiszner. Do we have a seconder?
Do we have a seconder for this report?
Can we do that? Or we have to move to the report and then we can ask questions through the... Yeah, it has to be moved.
Okay, second by Councillor Domenato. All right. So, committee member, is there any questions? Councillor Domenato.
Yeah. Thanks, Chair.
I'm curious if staff could comment on the comments made by a number of speakers around the reference point around the rates being ICBC and not the MVA, like other jurisdictions. Can you... sort of explore that with me so I have a better understanding of why are we unique in that regard or can you just expand on that?
Certainly. How towing rates are handled across the lower mainland are different. Surrey and New Westminster use ICBC. North Vancouver does not specifically regulate it. And Richmond, Burnaby, and a couple of others reference the MVA. We do not reference the MVA. We have been referencing ICBC for decades. quite some time. Within that, we align with our engineering department in the rates that are able to be charged for public tows as well as on the private tow side. And typically, the MVA is for higher risk police-based tows, speeding, impaired driving, those types of situations.
Okay. Just out of curiosity, have we explored, though, making that shift? Because obviously, I think you referenced Burnaby and Richmond as using the MDA as a reference point. Have we explored that?
Speaking to the private side only, we have looked at that. It would be a significant increase in the amounts that are towed to customers being picked up. So we've looked at adding... The administrative fee, the itemized administrative fee to help balance adding additional opportunities for the companies to recover the costs that they're putting in, particularly the things that we're asking them to do in the bylaw, like finding an owner, notifying owners. We have, you know, throughout the years added additional fees for a dolly as well as for parkade related chargers, towings to recognize that Vancouver does have a bit of a unique infrastructure and that we have more parkades relating to towing as opposed to larger open lot cities.
So what I'm hearing is you're trying to strike a balance around cost to customers, so affordability, but then also enabling companies to recoup as well costs. I have two more questions. I want to make sure I get through them. There was a reference around the fuel charge and following again, I think, Decrease to 20% to align with ICBC's fuel surcharge. I'm curious, do you know the rationale for that change by ICBC in light of the costs that overall fuel costs are going up for a whole variety of reasons globally and why that would be, why ICBC moved that direction at this time?
I certainly can't speak to why ICBC didn't raise their, when they decreased the rates. However, we are in line with ICBC at 22%. That is what the report is recommending. And ICBC are the guidelines that we use to set our towing rates on the public side of things.
Okay, thank you. And then just speaking, I don't know if staff are able to comment on this, but I'd be curious, just with our first speaker who is talking about their experience and just variability, I guess, in fees charged from time to time. And then I was looking at the Better Business Bureau and complaints filed against busters, and there seems to be a similar theme. And I'm just curious, can you give me some insight as to what may be contributing to that? And again, they are a contractor to us as well as the city.
Yes, certainly. So some of the variability could very well be related to the size of the vehicle. So there's different charges for towing vehicles of different sizes. So a small vehicle costs less to tow than it does a large vehicle, and so that's where you can see some of the variability within there. Without specifics, it's very difficult to look into each of the individual charges that are laid, but we do have it set out in our contract with the city's towing provider on what those fees are.
Okay. If I have time for one more question, I'm just curious if we, within our contract and our bylaw, do we have a sense if tow companies are exercising more latitude than what is provided for in the contract or within the bylaw in terms of towing? Again, looking at some of the complaints that were filed, do we have any sense of what that looks like?
I can speak to the public side of things. So anytime somebody is towed from the public street, it's done with a ticket. So that ticket generates the tow. And so we're able to monitor and know exactly what's being towed off of the city streets because it is parking enforcement staff that are initiating those tows. So we do have a built-in monitoring mechanism in place for those types of tows.
Okay, that's exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. I appreciate that.
Yeah, okay. Councillor Corbett.
Yeah, just following up on a couple of the questions, the commentary, and I might not express this very articulately, but the commentary from some of the speakers with respects to essentially cost recovery or hardship in terms of the fees not aligning with the actual cost of service, do staff have any comments on that and how that's considered?
When considering the towing-based rates, staff did ask for information from the companies in relation to the increased cost pressures. We did not receive detailed financial analysis of cost versus revenues, so we can't go into an in-depth review. Staff, again, are looking, I think, to balance cost opportunities and consumer protection with the fees in front of you today. We also took into account a 2022 ICBC towing report, business review report, done with PricewaterhouseCoopers, which looked at the cost and the workforce challenges. It does recognize that there are some cost pressures, but without the data behind the... The detailed financial data, they weren't able to go into a significant review of their fees, but recognized that there could be pressures and that they did adjust some of their rates to take that into account.
Okay, so is it fair to say that if some information was received, then prior to a future of data adjustments, staff would duly consider and look at that?
Yeah, we would certainly consider whatever information was provided.
Okay, and then just a comment in general. There was a slide I think someone showed with respects to Vancouver's fees looking to be more affordable. Any comments on that? Has that been a conscious choice to remain lower than some of the other municipalities, or do you find that information to be accurate?
Towing rates are certainly set differently across the lower mainland. As described prior to, New West and Surrey both point to ICBC, along with Vancouver and other jurisdictions point to MBA. It is not a conscious effort to be lower than. It is to be consistent with our approach in aligning with ICBC.
Okay. Thank you.
All right. Thank you.
Seeing no one else on the queue, I'm going to call the vote for this report. Also, remember that the committee members online participating virtually whose video is disabled will be marked absent.
Okay.
So, counsel, please register your vote on this voting panel.
Councillor Meiszner?
Okay, so the report passed with Councillor Meiszner abstained. Councillor Orr and Councillor Maloney in opposition.
Statement Watch
All right, is anyone else cold in here? Because I definitely am. But good morning, everyone. Good morning, council members and our mayor. My name is Samaya Adam. I am a black Muslim woman, and I'm grateful to be here with you all today. I'm a community builder. However, I am here on behalf of Foundation for a Path Forward. So on foundation, I serve as their board member. And, you know, sometimes you got to do dutiful, do the full things and come and support your community. So that's why I'm here today. However, the foundation's work is really focused on strengthening communities and advancing anti-racism work across local, national, and global contexts. It is in partnership with Resilience BC under the Attorney General's office. Our work is really grounded in collaboration and practical community-led solutions to build stronger, safer, and healthier communities. And so with that, we are here today for a proclamation recognizing Eid al-Hadha. Eid al-Hadha, also known as the Festival of Sacrifice, which you also graciously shared, it is one of the most significant holidays and celebrations in the Muslim faith. It is rooted in generosity and sacrifice, and it is deeply connected to the values our community cares. So our community really values community care. It is rooted in service. and support. And so when we think about sacrifice, there has to be this willingness to do that. And so at the same time, we cannot ignore the sober context of next month. So this June actually marks five years since the devastating attacks on the Afzal family in London, Ontario, where three generations of Muslim families were taken from us in an act of Islamophobic violence. Even today, we continue to see that rise in Islamophobia. However, moments like today should remind us that while Muslim communities are celebrating, many of us are also navigating anxiety and grief from our day-to-day experiences. So while today is a very symbolic day and a recognition that is so needed, it is an opportunity to deepen our understanding of one another, as well as to build solidarity. And so, thank you for... convening us today because the importance of coming together across differences is what really builds healthier, stronger communities. And so I'm really grateful for the city of Vancouver for creating the space for its residents, opening seats at the table, and really instilling a sense of dignity, shared responsibility through power, shifts, dynamics, all of that. And so this is a place we all call home. And so again, I'm just going to say thank you for giving us the space.
All right. Thanks, everyone. Thanks for... Alright, so this is the plan for the day. We're going to break at noon for lunch and return at 1pm to continue to deal with the remainder of the agenda. If needed, we need to recess at 5pm for a dinner break and reconvene at 6pm to complete the agenda. Okay, so now the committee member will consider the matter adopted on consent. We have report number one on the consent agenda for the committee's consideration. We will hold report two and three to hear from the speakers.