Worst 20 streets in Toronto, by police data: Eglinton is the “winner”
work in his April 19th newsletter by accessing, analysing and graphically presenting “The 20 Worst Streets in Toronto.”
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Author: Rita Smith
Life kicks you in the ass, and you get back up: that’s Easter
“The meaning of Easter? Life kicks you in the ass, and you get back up. That’s the meaning of Easter.”
—Nick Sofraniou, Greek shipper
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Bill 88 should not surprise anyone as “politicians and lobbyists unite against the citizenry”
This compensation slight of hand is great news for gig corporations and brutally bad news for gig workers. In fact, while Bill 88 was presented as “Working to protect workers,” it did not actually define the word “work.” What it will do, however, is enable the creation of a whole new class of Ontarians: the underclass. A government employee between phone calls gets paid even when the phone doesn’t ring; a rideshare driver waiting for a fare will not.
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Centennial College withdraws bid from Toronto’s driver training program: “it does not align with our approach”
Centennial College has withdrawn its bid to provide training to Toronto’s vehicle for hire drivers, Centennial’s Dean of Transportation Alan McLelland confirmed in an interview with Taxi News on April 8th.
“It just doesn’t align with our approach to driver training and other areas, and would have been something brand new for us to move into. We’ve really got to prioritize where we put our time and energy moving forward,” said McLelland.
“Toronto put a lot of time and a lot of effort into establishing their requirements. And so, if our (bid) didn’t meet their requirements, that’s it.”
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Happy Anniversary! But still no driver training program, three years after unanimous Council vote
Unfortunately, it also marks the one year anniversary of the Freedom of Information (FOI) request filed with the City of Toronto, asking how many vehicle for hire drivers have been trained under the mandatory driver training program Council unanimously directed Licensing and Standards staff to re-instate in July, 2019.
One year ago, the answer to our question was “Zero.” Zero drivers have been trained since staff received the direction in 2019.
Today, the answer is still “Zero.” Zero drivers have been trained since we published the FOI response on April 11, 2021.
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Confessions of a small-town Driver Examiner: “GTA students are flooding our offices for tests”
e frames are more than lengthy enough that a guy who is licensed to drive at home can who has a G license in April or May can finish training for an A license during the summer; and receive it by September or October. Some of them have never even driven a CAR in the snow. Their first experience of snow and icy roads is as a brand-new driver of a transport truck,” Grey points out, highlighting a reality described to RWN other industry professionals.
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Jaw-dropping, shocking, hilariously fun reading: Don Taylor’s “Stories from the Road”
Don Taylor spent the first nine years of career driving Taxi in Thunder Bay before he transitioned to Truck driving. His stories from both industries are fast-paced, vivid and memorable. He spent years around the campfire with family and friends, regaling them with Taxi and Trucking stories before they finally convinced him to put the stories in writing, in a book.
“I have thousands of them, really,” Taylor told Road Warrior News shortly after the book’s launch. “I hardly knew where to start. But once I got a rhythm in place, writing every weekend I was home, one story led to another and I would look up to see five or six hours had passed.”
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Taxi operators meet with Councillor Ford to discuss renewal fees, proposed Advisory Committee
A Taxi Owners and Operators meeting with Toronto Councillor Michael Ford took place videoconference on March 21st, and organizer David Reti is hopeful Ford was receptive to the group’s request for help.
Ford committed to sharing the group’s requests with other Councillors in an effort to establish support for a Motion at City Council, which meets next on April 6th. His office has not responded to Taxi News’ request for comment at post time.
“We’re asking for support on short-term and longer-term initiatives,” Reti told Taxi News.
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Are we addicted to noise?
Photo: “The peace that passes all understanding” by Mike Murchison. It’s getting more difficult to find peace and quiet in 2022. Well. I walk into the driver’s lounge at the Space Age Truckstop here in Hermiston, Oregon. There’s a huge,
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