Toronto gains 7% increase in population, 1000% increase in vehicles for hire
City has 100 times the number of vehicles for hire recommended
Update December 15: This article has been updated with the inclusion of the .pdf version of the 2013 report.
Click here to read the full 2013 report by Taxi Research Partners, commissioned by the City of Toronto
In 2013, the City of Toronto hired Dr. James Cooper and Taxi Research Partners to determine the appropriate number of Taxis needed in the city. After several months of research, Dr. Cooper informed Toronto, that the required number of Taxicabs (now referred to as “vehicles for hire”) was 5,500 vehicles.
As of the 2011 Canadian Census, the population of the City of Toronto was 2,615,060. According to Statistics Canada’s 2021 Canadian Census data, Toronto’s 2021 population was 2,794,356, an increase of 179,296 people.
This represents a population increase of just under 7 per cent between 2011 and 2021. During this period of time, the number of vehicles for hire has increased by 1000 per cent, from 5500 to 55,000. This figure includes about 3,000 Taxis, and 52,000 rideshare vehicles including Uber and Lyft.
Dr. James Cooper is a researcher, academic and practitioner in the field of transportation. He has over 20 years experience as Director at Transport Research Partners, a full service consultancy focused on the social, economic, environmental and human aspects of transport worldwide, as well as academic and project management posts.
In 2005, together with his close colleague Wim Faber, James established the Taxi Research Network, recognizing the need to treat taxi transport as integral to and part of the wider transportation environment, and critical to the economic life of a city and, differently, to that in rural locations.
In 2007 James was given the title of Doctor for work in Regulatory Economics and Taxis, by Edinburgh Napier University, and that of Visiting Professor of Urban Transportation Regulation by the University of Missouri, St Louis a couple of years later.
Dr. Cooper has supported, promoted, analyzed and challenged the taxi industry, in equal measure, ever since.
James has remained active and engaged as the Managing Director of Transport Research Partners, as its founding Director, and throughout its growth. He now directs TRP activities in North America, while keeping an active involvement in projects in Europe.
