As an independent tribunal, the Board is expected to make well-reasoned, objective, evidence-based decisions that fulfill its legislative mandate. 

Both the Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations in 2018 and, more recently, the Special Committee to Review Passenger Directed Vehicles in 2024 have recommended that the Board collect, analyze, and use data to support evidence-based decision-making.

Objective, evidence-based decision-making is central to the Board’s role as the regulator of the B.C. passenger transportation industry. Whether the Board is making an application decision to grant an operating licence, or a broader systemic decision to address the sustainability of the industry, it must consider data-driven evidence. 

The requirement for data as a basis for evidence-based decision-making underlines the need for the Board to have access to comprehensive data relevant to the passenger transportation industry. 

Difference between data and evidence 

To achieve its expanded mandate, the Board must do more than collect data, it must have economic expertise to analyze data and develop an expert foundation to contextualize evidence presented in its proceedings.

Data and evidence are not the same thing. For example, when taxi or TNS submit their trip data, each trip record can consist of more than 50 data elements each. When combined with other trip records, there can be a substantial amount of data elements to manage. It is difficult to enter this raw data into evidence because of its volume and challenges with interpreting the raw data.

Instead, the Board will use quantitative analysis to interpret what the data means. This typically involves applying statistical and economic expertise to analyze the data and turn it into useable evidence. Following this analysis, the evidence must then be introduced into the Board’s decision-making process in an administratively fair manner.