Written for Daily Hive Urbanized by Ashiyana Hanif, who is a Surrey broadcaster and the founder of Media Waves Live. She is an Imagine Surrey candidate for Surrey City Council in the October 2026 civic election.<\/p>\n
For more than 30 years, the people listening to my shows at two in the afternoon have been sitting in taxis.<\/p>\n
I started hosting my radio shows in 1992 for Surrey\u2019s Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu communities, and I opened my own station, Media Waves Live, in 2015.<\/p>\n
I know my callers. They are drivers waiting in airport queues. A driver who just paid for a licence, an inspection, and a dispatch fee, and hasn\u2019t picked up a fare yet.<\/p>\n
If you drive a taxi in Surrey, you know the story. You bought into a system that was supposed to be regulated for a reason, and then the rules changed. Your costs didn\u2019t go down. Your day got longer and your job got harder. And when you finally have a passenger, you sit at a red light on King George Boulevard beside a bus lane you\u2019re not allowed to touch.<\/p>\n
Your riders know it too. The senior in Newton who needs a ride to Surrey Memorial Hospital and doesn\u2019t have a ride-hailing app. The family that comes home late from the gurdwara on a Saturday. They pay for every minute you spend in traffic.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s my pledge: I will give taxis a break.<\/p>\n
First, let taxis use bus lanes where it makes sense and when it makes sense. A bus lane with no bus in it is a wasted lane. Taxis carry people who are paying to get somewhere. Let them move.<\/p>\n
Second, cut the cost of the licence and the paperwork. Surrey City Hall controls the business licence, the fees, and the hoops. We\u2019ll lower the licensing costs and cut the red tape so more drivers can operate and prices stay competitive for the people who ride.<\/p>\n
The same municipal political parties have run City Hall and been at the table without delivering for our taxi industry. Drivers have been asking for this, but none of the legacy parties have done anything about it. I\u2019ve had drivers on air asking for the rules to change, and that\u2019s why I am running to change them. A bylaw change costs almost nothing. It\u2019s just never been done.<\/p>\n