Party Buses In British Columbia:
The Case for Regulation
A brief and backgrounder for elected
officials
SEPTEMBER 2014
“Time to ring an alarm bell about
an under-regulated industry that
puts the lives of teenagers at risk”
The Province
February 2014
Prepared by
Councillor Geoff Meggs
City of Vancouver
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Executive summary
Since 2008, when her 16 year-old daughter Shannon was found dead after a ride
on a party bus, Shannon’s mother Julie Raymond, and her sister Danielle, have
been campaigning for regulation of party buses in B.C.
So far, Victoria has been unwilling to act despite many other incidents and one
other fatality. Party buses, using “general authorization” permits, operate
virtually unregulated and, in many cases, are little more than rolling bars
targeting young and underage customers. Action is long overdue, but another
grad season has come and gone with no response to the widespread call for
regulation.
The following six-step program would go a long way to solve the party bus
problem:
a. Public safety must be a priority
1. Treat party buses as “passenger-directed vehicles” to be licensed as special
authorization vehicles regardless of passenger capacity, to be regulated by
the Passenger Transportation Board along the same lines as limousines
and taxis;
2. Require chauffeur permits for party bus drivers – with the associated
criminal record check, safety training and other requirements – as well as
mandatory safety training and protocols for owners, operators and
chaperones with appropriate penalties for violations; and
3. Using the California law as a starting point, require special measures to
protect underage passengers from harm, including mandatory chaperone
requirements, new powers for inspection, and mandatory “safe drop off
provisions” to end the practice of dumping sick or distressed passengers
in isolated, dangerous locations.
b. Enforce the law on party buses
1. Crack down on violations of BC’s liquor laws on party buses to end the
“rolling bar” scene by imposing tough new penalties on operators who
allow open consumption of liquor;
2. Increase penalties for violations of underage drinking rules to allow
cancellation of business licences or special authorization licences upon
conviction; and
3. Strengthen the consumer power of passengers and parents by posting
violation records, fare information and complaints about party bus
operators online.
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1. Introduction
Since 2008, when her 16 year-old daughter Shannon was found dead after a
ride on a party bus, Shannon’s mother Julie Raymond, and her sister
Danielle, have been campaigning for regulation of party buses in B.C.
These vehicles, which can be buses or limousines in appearance, are usually
licensed under the Ministry of Transportation’s General Authorization or
GA licence category. This is the most wide-open category, requiring no
chauffeur permit. Fares are not regulated.
From a few vehicles as recently as 2010, the GA category has grown to more
than 1800 licences today, operated by 517 GA licensees.
Many of these vehicles are operating appropriately, providing shuttle services,
medical transfers support for tourism, transportation for farm workers and
countless other tasks. They are not the subject of this brief.
But more and more of these vehicles are operating as rolling bars, often
targeting underage customers. It is these vehicles, probably fewer than 150
in the entire province, that must be regulated.
This unregulated industry, operating on the fringes of the taxi industry and
the legitimate limousine industry, is producing a tragic litany of death and
injury, particularly among teens.
It’s time to regulate this industry, as has been done in other jurisdictions
like California. A motion calling for such action has been unanimously
endorsed by the City Council of Vancouver and circulated to municipalities
across BC for their consideration.
In June, BC’s police chiefs added their voices to the call for regulation,
seeking amendments to liquor laws to make party bus operators accountable
for consumption of liquor on their vehicles
Regrettably, despite promises of action by then Transportation Minister Mary
Polak on the eve of the last election, the Province of BC has so far refused to
step in, exposing more of the province’s teens to injury and death.
Now Minister Todd Stone has declared that he is unwilling to act, even
challenging municipalities to take up the task through their own bylaws. This
would produce a fragmented and unworkable regime in an area which is now
exclusively the province’s jurisdiction.
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This paper proposes a pragmatic solution to close a gaping hole in the
province’s regulation in two key areas: the provision of vehicles for hire and
the sale and service of alcohol.
It is not necessary to sweep all General Authorization vehicles into a new
category.
The solution is to:
 require party buses to be regulated by the Passenger Transportation
Board, as are taxis and limousines; and
 tighten enforcement of the existing regulations regarding alcohol
service and consumption by imposing new rules on limousine and
party bus operators along with stronger direct police enforcement.
The objective of these measures is to increase public safety and the
protection of our teens, particularly those too young to drink legally, and to
end the wide-open access to the party bus business. Combined with lack of
enforcement, lack of regulation is resulting in illegitimate or illegal business
practices, poor safety practices and undercutting of legitimate operators.
2. The Shannon Raymond story
The need for regulation of the party sector became evident more than four
years ago with the tragic and needless death of Shannon Raymond of Maple
Ridge.
Shannon Raymond was 16 when she died in 2008 after a ride on party bus,
drinking and taking ecstasy. No one called 911 until hours later, when it was
too late. It was two weeks before her 17th birthday.
Her mother Julie and her sister Danielle have become tireless advocates for
government action to avert another tragedy, so far without results.
But their story, regrettably, is not unique.
In the last 18 months alone, communities across BC have experienced
tragedy or near-tragedy as the result of mismanagement of the party bus
industry.
People -- especially young people -- are at risk of injury and death. The tally
derived from media reports alone is shocking:
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 Feb. 22, 2013: A teen was taken to the hospital with a “dangerously
high level of intoxication” after riding a party bus in Port Moody.
Police found alcohol in the vehicle.
 January 2012: A 15-year-old boy was left at the side of a Kelowna
street after getting drunk on party bus. The bus’s owner was charged
with motor vehicle violation tickets after RCMP found open liquor.
 Sept. 14, 2012: A fight erupted on a party bus in Delta after one of
the passengers sprayed others with bear spray. An ambulance crew
and Delta firefighters helped those hit by the spray.
 July 18, 2012: Five teens were sent to hospital when some of the 50
Surrey high school grads on a party bus got into a brawl in a
Cloverdale gas station parking lot.
 March 3, 2012: Several Langley teens were treated for minor injuries
after riders on two party buses got into a fight at a strip mall. One
person was taken to hospital suffering from excessive alcohol
consumption.
 Jan. 21, 2012: Kelowna police stopped a party bus that contained a
dance floor, a stripper pole, and people drinking “copious amounts”
of alcohol.
Given the small size of the party bus fleet, this is a depressing litany of failure
and undoubtedly represents the tip of the iceberg.
These incidents are just the worst examples, those that reach the media.
Who really knows the toll of violence, illness, injury and sexual assault that
lies behind these stories?
This is not a Vancouver problem, or a Metro Vancouver problem. It is a BC
problem and it warrants the minister’s earliest attention.
These tragedies are preventable with appropriate legislation and
regulation, as recent legislation in California has demonstrated.
3. The problem: party buses are not properly
regulated
The creation of the general authorization category before the 2010 Winter
Olympic Games was designed to create a straightforward licensing approach
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for a range of vehicle services that did not require the regulation and
oversight already in place for taxis and limousines.
There are now two categories of licence:
 General authorization is issued by the Passenger Transportation
Branch of the Ministry of Transportation subject to submission of the
required forms.
 Special authorization, for taxis or limousines, is issued only upon
approval of the Passenger Transportation Board, which is required by
law to strike a balance between customer service and the economic
stability of the sector. The PTB determines the number of licences in
a given jurisdiction, the fares and the qualifications to be required of
drivers. Municipalities frequently add their own regulations to
operators in this category.
General authorization licences are virtually turn-key, although drivers may
require a Class 2 or Class 4 licence, depending on the number of passengers
carried. Although municipalities may require a chauffeur permit, the
government does not, nor does it consider the economic well-being of the
overall sector as the Passenger Transportation Board must do for taxis and
limousines.
But the party bus sector has grown in a few short years to 19 companies with
about 36 vehicles in the Lower Mainland alone, according to the Passenger
Transportation Branch. There are another 10 vehicles elsewhere in the
province.
In addition, industry observers estimate another 60 stretch SUVs and stretch
limousines are operating in the Lower Mainland, providing what are
effectively party bus services using General Authorization approvals.
In all, BC probably has at least 120 and perhaps as many as 150 vehicles
operating in this business. Some of the stretch SUVs are operating with SA
licences, underlining the overlap between the smaller party bus vehicles and
the larger limousines. These vehicles compete unfairly with appropriately
licensed limousines providing similar services. The following table
demonstrates why.
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COMPARISON OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: GAs vs SAs
REGULATED FARE?
CHAUFFEUR
PERMIT?
ECONOMIC IMPACT
REVIEW?
CAP ON
PASSENGERS?
PASSENGER
DIRECTED?
GENERAL
AUTHORIZATION
PARTY BUSES
NO
NO
SPECIAL
AUTHORIZATION
LIMOS AND TAXIS
YES
YES*
NO
YES
NO
YES**
YES
YES
*some municipalities may require chauffeur permits
** set at maximum 12 by PTBoard under law, but in the absence of enforcement the number may be higher.
Although party bus operators are competing directly with stretch limousines
and indirectly with taxis (which are limited to seven passengers maximum)
they:





do not require chauffeur permits in most municipalities;
can negotiate any fare they wish;
take much larger groups of passengers;
work anywhere in the province; and
operate freely in the “passenger-directed” category supposedly
restricted to limousines and taxis.
Ironically, the larger buses (over 12 passengers) receive much less oversight
than taxis, despite the obvious complexities of providing services to so many
passengers. (They are not sitting around watching the scenery.)
In addition, there is widespread belief in the industry that vehicle weight,
which is used to calculate passenger capacity, is manipulated fraudulently
before inspections in many cases to allow vehicles that would otherwise
require special authorization to slip into the GA category.
Make no mistake about it: party buses are “passenger-directed,” as are
limousines and taxis, a critical factor in determining what lines of business
must have special authorization licences.
Party buses are evading this requirement, both by fraudulent means and
because the government does not regard these charters as “passenger-
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directed” even though the starting point, finish point and every point in
between are determined by the passengers.
This is the gap through which too many of our teens are slipping.
Party bus operators themselves reject the current arrangement. Tommy
Cuscito, longtime owner of Vancouver Party Buses and Limousines, has also
written to Transportation Minister Todd Stone, asking him to tighten the
rules to weed out some of the new, unsafe operators who have given his
industry a bad name in recent years.
“At least 50 per cent are not playing by the rules,” he told the Vancouver Sun.
“The unfortunate reality is it is so easy now to obtain a General
Authorization licence to operate a limo or bus. It is practically turn key.
There are no background checks.”
Cuscito continues: “I’ve heard similar comments from the BC Limousine
Assoc. and the leaders of our taxi sector.”
As a result of this unbridled competition and lack of enforcement in the
party bus sector, we see cut-throat competition that includes:
 Direct marketing of illegal underage drinking rides to teens and
younger passengers with tragic and unacceptable consequences;
 Increasing economic instability through the “passenger-directed”
sector of the industry with serious consequences for public safety, the
tourism sector and the reputation of responsible service providers;
and
 Easily avoidable ambulance and policing costs as well as significant
health and social costs resulting from binge drinking.
4. Wholesale violations of liquor regulations
The most serious consequence of this lack of regulation is evident in the
threat to public health and safety posed by the emergence of what amounts
to an unlicensed sector of the hospitality industry. Some are virtual rolling
bars operated by a segment of the party bus industry.
There are many examples of party bus firms, including some major ones,
advertising online with pictures of their clients drinking openly, from glasses,
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beer cans and bottles, while travelling in a company vehicle. The emphasis is
clearly on “party” for these marketing programs.
A 2012 crackdown on liquor violations on party buses, conducted by the
Vancouver Police Department, revealed numerous violations which validate
concerns about public safety and lack of regulation in this growing industry.
During the summer of that year, VPD initiated a Liquor Enforcement Plan
to deal with numerous city-wide issues relating to liquor, specifically
underage drinking. A portion of that plan included having Provincial
Commercial Vehicle Inspectors work with the VPD on enforcement of taxis,
“party buses” and limousines that were in the Granville Entertainment
District on Friday and Saturday nights.
In addition, two traffic officers of the VPD were deployed on Friday and
Saturday nights to conduct enforcement at various identified locations in
Vancouver for limousines and “party buses.” These measures, in addition to
others not related to party buses, were implemented on a number occasions
during the “grad party” season.
Officers involved in the project reported significant success. Numerous limos
and party buses were checked, resulting in numerous tickets for violations
including open liquor consumption, speeding and other offences.
“The project was so successful,” according to one officer involved, “that by
the end of the grad season, police learned that the vehicles were stopping at
Boundary Road and dumping out their liquor before heading into
Vancouver.”
Such a tough approach to party buses, however, is not possible every night of
the week. There is a clear need to ensure the law is upheld by the operators
themselves without constant intensive enforcement. This underlines the
need for provincial action to avoid a patchwork quilt of municipal measures
in an industry where operators, by definition, are working across the region.
BC’s police chiefs voted June 18 to call on Victoria for changes to liquor laws
to make party bus operators accountable for enforcement of liquor
regulations on their vehicles. But legislative changes should extend to other
relevant laws, particularly those under Passenger Transportation Board
jurisdiction.
An advantage of PTB regulation, according to the VPD, would be the ability
to suspend or revoke Special Authorization privileges in the event of Liquor
Act infractions. This could be reinforced by regional agreement among
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municipalities on their own related regulations for passenger-directed
vehicles, be they taxis, limos or party buses.
Vancouver, which is the destination for many party bus trips, may need to
take additional measures to reduce the traffic impact of party buses in the
Granville Entertainment District, which are generating congestion as they
idle in the neighbourhood waiting for their fares to return.
In short, the Vancouver experience supports the need to extend regulation to
the party bus sector.
5. Government response: no response
In March 2013, in the wake of the senseless and still unexplained death of
16-year-old Ernest Azoadam, found dying at a Surrey gas station after a party
bus ride, then Transportation Minister Mary Polak promised action.
Azoadam reportedly had a medical emergency while on the bus, which pulled
over while the driver called the office for direction. When first responders
arrived, it was too late to save the teen.
On March 13, 2013, Minister Polak declared herself ready to suspend the
licences of companies that break the law by allowing the consumption of
liquor on a bus: “As a mother and as Minister of Transportation, I will not
tolerate unsafe practices that put our young people at risk.”
Minister Polak organized a meeting with stakeholders and said her ministry
was “reviewing the licensing framework to identify ways to further strengthen
our ability to monitor party buses and impose sanctions.”
But no action resulted from that meeting.
In November, 2013, Surrey mother Theresa Gortva told the Vancouver Sun
her 17-year-old daughter MacKenzie was served free alcohol, assaulted and
left with two friends at an Abbotsford truck stop after a ride on a party bus
in that community. The operator was the same company involved in the
Ernest Azoadam incident.
“These are basically roving, unlicensed bars,” said Theresa Gortva. “I just
want to see something done about this.”
But now Minister Stone is retreating even further: on February 5, 2014, just
before Vancouver City Council debated a motion urging him to take action,
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he told Metro that “at this time, we are not considering changes to the
licensing requirements or legislation around charter buses.”
Nonetheless, the motion passed unanimously, in Vancouver, then by
Mission city council and then by the Lower Mainland Local Government
Association.
Other jurisdictions are taking action. Just last month California governor
Jerry Brown introduced sweeping new regulations to govern the party bus
industry in that jurisdiction, including tough new rules prohibiting any
underage drinking on party buses. (California permits liquor service on party
buses.)
This new regulation, which garnered broad legislative support, was the result
of wide consultation with the industry. It puts very serious obligations on bus
operators to ensure safe operation or face heavy penalties.
6. A pragmatic solution: sensible regulation, tough
enforcement
Recent media coverage and the Vancouver council debate have generated
widespread agreement, as The Province editorialized, that it is “absolutely right
to ring an alarm bell about an under-regulated industry that puts the lives of
teenagers at risk.”
The following six-step program would go a long way to solve the party bus
problem:
a. Public safety must be a priority
1. Treat party buses as “passenger-directed vehicles” to be licensed as
special authorization vehicles regardless of passenger capacity, to be
regulated by the Passenger Transportation Board along the same lines
as limousines and taxis;
2. Require chauffeur permits for party bus drivers – with the associated
criminal record check, safety training and other requirements – as well as
mandatory safety training and protocols for owners, operators and
chaperones with appropriate penalties for violations; and
3. Using the California law as a starting point, require special measures
to protect underage passengers from harm, including mandatory
chaperone requirements, new powers for inspection, and mandatory
11
“safe drop off provisions” to end the practice of dumping sick or
distressed passengers in isolated, dangerous locations.
b. Enforce the law on party buses
1. Crack down on violations of BC’s liquor laws on party buses to end
the “rolling bar” scene by imposing tough new penalties on operators
who allow open consumption of liquor;
2. Increase penalties for violations of underage drinking rules to allow
cancellation of business licences or special authorization licences
upon conviction; and
3. Strengthen the consumer power of passengers and parents by posting
violation records, fare information and complaints about party bus
operators online.
7. Conclusion
This is a unique case where all stakeholders – customers, operators, police
and others – agree action is warranted. All that is required for positive
change is for the Minister to agree and introduce the necessary changes in
legislation.
The time to act is now.
Christmas and New Year are behind us -- let’s have action before grad parties
begin.
Otherwise, our kids will continue to be at risk of injury or death.
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