4 applications received in new WAV program
Toronto has received 4 applications to its new $25,000 grant program, intended to put more Wheelchair Accessible Vans (WAV) for on-demand service on the road.
“Over the past month we’ve received four applications which we’re processing,” Jas Baweja, Senior Communications Advisor in Toronto’s Media office wrote Taxi News in response to inquiries.
From a peak of 577 WAVs in 2023, Toronto will be down to possibly a dozen by March 31, 2026.
In interviews, surveys and letters, Taxi News has received numerous comments from Taxi industry owners, operators and Brokerages indicating that the main reason operators are unwilling to invest approximately $100,000 per Wheelchair Accessible Van is that their trust in Toronto was shattered when the city permitted open entry of thousands of Vehicles for Hire in 2016 and has done nothing to correct the situation since.
ICYMI: Wheelchair accessible taxi service (started 2015) is going to come to an abrupt end. The city is sitting on >$21M of the industry’s money they’ve been collecting since 2019. They’ve had 10 years to make a plan. There is none and now it’s too late. #TOpoli https://t.co/Bf5g4MEaka
— Kristine Hubbard (@KristineHubbard) February 11, 2026
In a February 12 email to Mayor Olivia Chow’s press secretary, Taxi News noted that:
“1) The initial cost of the van means nothing given the open entry allowed to American rideshare corporations, which make it impossible for WAV operators to generate enough revenues to pay the costs of an Accessible vehicle; and
2) No one trusts Toronto as a place to do business any longer. They are done investing in Toronto.
What is Mayor Chow’s comment on these facts? Is there a plan being developed to address these two issues?”
At time of posting, no response has been received from Mayor Chow’s office.
“The City is committed to ensuring the availability of on-demand accessible Vehicle-for-Hire service to meet the needs of people with mobility disabilities,” Baweja writes.
“In 2020, the Accessibility Fund Program was created to support the availability of accessible taxicab service and to help offset the higher costs of providing wheelchair-accessible service. To further support increased service for riders, the City is increasing incentives for those providing accessible taxicab services.
“The program has been updated in 2026 and will now offer more funding to incentivize the uptake and operation of accessible on-demand service by wheelchair-accessible taxicabs. Taxicab owners may apply for the new one-time payment of $25,000 to help cover the cost of converting a vehicle to be wheelchair accessible. This applies to newly converted side-entry or rear-entry accessible vehicles that were registered in 2025. Taxicab owners may also qualify for annual grants and incentives if they meet the required service standards for the delivery of on-demand accessible service. These annual grants and incentives are also available to vehicle-for-hire drivers, based on eligibility criteria and service standards.”
*
