Taxi “in-person” consultation June 20

The first “in-person” consultation session on Toronto’s Vehicle for Hire (VHF) industry will take place at the East York Civic Centre on June 20th at 10am.

On June 12, a virtual session was hosted by Toronto staff and Gladki Planning Associates. Over 100 people were on the Webex teleconference, which focused largely on Accessible services.

There will be a virtual Taxi industry teleconference on June 24th, in addition to another public session and one organized for Private Transportation Companies (PTCs.) The full calendar of consultations and registration information is available on Toronto’s website.

Canadian Taxi Association president Marc Andre Way, who was recently a successful plaintiff in an Ottawa lawsuit regarding its failure to enforce its own laws against Uber, is scheduled to appear to share the Ottawa experience with Toronto’s policy planners.

“Is Toronto looking at the damage done to its own transit services by allowing an unlimited number of Ubers to set their own prices?” Way said in an interview with Taxi News.

“Why would a consumer pay a $3.35 TTC fare outside of rush hour when 10 cruising Ubers will take him door-to-door for a few dollars more? The TTC has lost $60 to $70 million dollars per year to Uber and Lyft since they arrived.

“Open entry to the market now means thousands of cars are cruising around in wait for a call: streets are gridlocked, and drivers earn nothing,” he points out, identifying two of the reasons Toronto is reviewing the Vehicle for Hire industry.