Watch the above video: There are plenty of policy items on the agenda for Toronto Council to discuss including taxis, bars and subways. Mark Carcasole reports.
TORONTO – Dozens of Toronto cab drivers showed up in green and orange t-shirts inside city hall chambers to view the debate on reforms to the taxi industry on Wednesday.
After a seven-hour debate Toronto council voted to approve a motion to streamline the licensing process for Toronto’s taxis and make it a one tier-system.
One of the main issues was whether the owner of the cab licence should be the driver of the cab. Currently cab drivers effectively rent the cabs they drive.
“We support the owner/operator model. That means the cab driver will own their cabs and the owners will drive the cabs and this will improve the driver’s life,” said Toronto taxi driver Ali Chaudhrey.
“There are so many people in between, which makes the monthly or the weekly lease for the drivers so high, that we don’t end up taking anything.”
Some of the other proposals include increasing the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles, allow cab drivers to issue a $25 “vomit fee” and allow drivers to demand payments up front to a maximum of $25.
“We support the recommendation that came from licensing and standards because we felt it was a compromise that everyone could live with,” said Jim Bell, spokesperson for the Toronto Taxicab Alliance and President of Diamond Taxi.
*With files from Mark Carcasole
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