Majority of rebuilt taxis fail inspection by VPD

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Eighty per cent of rebuilt taxis checked out in a commercial vehicle inspection today have failed. Despite that, we’re being told you shouldn’t feel scared to get in a cab.

That’s because inspections are apparently working, according to Vancouver Police Sergeant Peter Groenland. “The taxi companies, as you can see, are here.  They’re taking this very seriously.”

He’s not sure how many rebuilt cabs are on the road, but says there are a lot. The cars were once written off, and then sold privately. “They’re cheaper for the companies to buy and put on the road, but we’re finding some major problems with that.”

During an inspection at Vancouver Community College’s Broadway campus today, nearly all of the rebuilt cabs inspected were taken off the road.

Tow trucks were even standing by. “They get inspected, their licence plates and permits are removed.  They’re allowed, if possible to get the vehicles fixed.  In a lot of cases, it’s not possible to fix them,” says Groenland.

The worst offenders are rebuilt Toyota Corollas. “There’s frame problems. They’re a unibody frame.  They’re supposed to have three centimeters of tolerance. One was 14 centimeters out.”

Even more disturbing, Groenland says people are buying these cars privately, believing they’ve been inspected when they haven’t.

Kullwant Sahota is President of Yellow Cab, just one of many companies involved in today’s inspection at Vancouver Community College.

He says he drove cabs for 20 years and had no idea re-builds were such a huge problem. “They just showed me, and I’m very surprised. I’m shocked actually.”

Sahota says cab companies are unknowingly buying unsafe cars, and there needs to be an industry-wide standard when it comes to acquiring rebuilds. He adds they may simply send all their cabs to one rebuild facility only, but says their cabs are safe and their mechanics are checking them.

Groenland says it’s not just taxis that are the problem. Commercial vehicles of all types are routinely failing inspections. Rebuilt cabs, today, just happened to be the focus.

Meanwhile, Vancouver Police say 24 cabs have been pulled from service after two days of inspections on rebuilt taxis.

They say the inspections were the result of concerns raised by police officers after recent roadside checks. Over the course of the two days, 55 rebuilt cabs were inspected, and only eight cars passed the test. Eight cars were removed from the road until remains are done, and 15 others were issued 30-day inspection notices and are required to make repairs before the second inspection.

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