Toronto approves the first training provider for vehicle-for-hire drivers

Photo: ambdriving.com

The City of Toronto announced today that it has approved AMB Driving School as the first accredited driver training provider, as part of its mandatory driving training program for vehicle-for-hire drivers.

According the the press release posted April 27, drivers for vehicles-for-hire and private transportation companies (PTC), such as Facedrive, Lyft and Uber, need to contact AMB Driving School directly for more information and to register for the training program. The program offered by AMB Driving School includes in-class, virtual class and in-car components and will begin in May, 2022. Information is available at AMB’s website, here.

"AMB Driving School has received approval to offer the Driver Accreditation Program for the City of Toronto’s Vehicle for Hire program:

Driver Accreditation Program:
--5 hours of in-class at one of our 13 locations across the GTA (Option at Registration to choose online or regular & the Date based on where we offer)
--5 hours of in-class offered virtually through zoom (Option at Registration to choose date based on when it is offered)
--*2 hours of in-car lessons are flexible and can be scheduled 7 days a week across the GTA (AMB Driving School to contact you after registration to schedule In Car Appointment)

The Vehicle For Hire course including 5 hours of theory training, 2 hours of in car training and certification at completion of course is for $250 + HST ($282.50)"

As directed by City Council, applicants for new vehicle-for-hire and PTC drivers’ licences must demonstrate completion of the driver training course and will be required to submit the certificate of completion as part of their licence application. Applications for new licences will not be accepted without the certificate of training completion, once the training begins next month.

Information about the training program is available on the City’s Vehicle-for-Hire Bylaw Updates webpage. It is anticipated that more approved training providers will be added to the City’s list within the next month. The City’s website will continue to be updated as more training providers are approved.

In July 2019, City Council adopted amendments to the Licensing of Vehicles-for-Hire Bylaw (www.toronto.ca/legdocs/municode/toronto-code-546.pdf), which included the introduction of a mandatory driver training for all vehicle-for-hire drivers. The new driver training will focus on improving driver awareness of Vision Zero, transporting passengers in a safe manner, driving in an urban setting, anti-racism and discrimination, and legal requirements.

In February 2020, a call for applications was issued for driver training providers seeking accreditation and the City had begun to review submissions.

In 2021, after a second call for applications was issued, 12 applications were received from driver training programs seeking approval as recognized training providers for vehicle-for-hire drivers. To be on the City’s list of approved training programs, third-party training providers need to satisfy all mandatory criteria provided by the City and submit a course content that clearly demonstrates how it will meet the curriculum criteria.

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