Taxi industry news

Ottawa contains numerous historic neighbourhoods and municipalities. Source: Ontario.ca
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Ottawa’s “supply management” system for Taxis

Guest Contributor

Before amalgamation, the former municipalities of Ottawa, Cumberland, Gloucester, Kanata, Nepean and Vanier all regulated taxis. The former City of Ottawa had a fixed number of plates based on population. In 1969, the old City of Ottawa assumed control of regulation of the taxi industry from the police commission. In doing so, it enacted By-law L-1 and introduced a limit on the number of taxi plates that may operate. In 1971, the old City of Ottawa enacted By-law L-6, which authorized the transfer and selling of plates as commercial transactions.

Other municipalities, like the City of Vanier, did not limit the number of plates. Yet other municipalities did not regulate the industry at all.

The municipalities that had no plate limits experienced problems with the oversupply of plates. For example, Vanier introduced plate limits in the mid-1990s because the over-supply of plates was problematic.

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Susan Jones in media scrum regarding Uber's arrival in Ottawa in 2014. She told them to apply for a Taxi brokerage license. Photo: YouTube
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Uber lobbied Ottawa aggressively “from day one”

Guest Contributor

City did not know where to find Uber. However, Uber introduced itself to City Hall as soon it began operating in Ottawa, and the City rolled out the welcome mat. Uber lobbied City Hall continuously and aggressively from September 2014 up to the by-law change in April 2016, and well afterward.

Uber Canada had six registered lobbyists active between September 2014 and April 2016. According to the City’s lobbying registry, officials from the City met with two city councillors and city staff, including Susan Jones, on September 22, 2014. This was 3 days after Uber’s recruiting event at the Westin Hotel. After this meeting, Susan Jones stated that Uber was welcome to operate in Ottawa so long as it obtained a broker’s license.

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Ottawa City Hall Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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Ottawa’s response to Uber was “chaotic and unplanned”

Guest Contributor

“Uber” refers to multiple affiliated corporations incorporated in different jurisdictions, including Uber B.V., Raiser Operations B.V., Uber Canada Inc. and/or Uber Technologies Inc. In affiliation with each other, these corporations carry on business with an electronic software application and license businesses in relation to facilitating private transportation services for compensation through telecommunications platforms and/or a digital network.

Uber began operating in Ottawa in or around September 2014. Around that time, Uber accelerated its activities by launching campaigns to attract drivers to join its operation. The operation of Uber and its drivers directly contravened the unlicensed driving and dispatching provisions of the 2012 By-law.

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"CafeTO was created during COVID, but now COVID is over," Uber driver Victor says. Photo: Sue-Ann Levy
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Toronto receives applications for 500 curb lane cafés

RWN Staff

City of Toronto receives more than 500 CaféTO curb lane café applications

More than 500 restaurants and bars have applied for a City of Toronto CaféTO curb lane café patio this summer.

City staff are reviewing all applications to ensure they meet the program requirements set out in the regulations under Chapter 742, Sidewalk Cafés, Parklets and Marketing Displays. Staff will also work with a traffic management consultant to develop a safe and balanced approach to curb lane use, including loading zones and cycling infrastructure.

Approved CaféTO curb lane locations will be installed between mid-May and June and will be available for patrons and businesses to use until October.

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Toronto City Hall Photo: toronto.ca
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Exemption for wheelchair-accessible vehicles proposed in Toronto’s draft Net Zero regulations

RWN Staff

Toronto has posted updates to its Vehicle-for-hire by-laws site regarding the recommendations for a “net zero” approach. The draft recommendations suggested by staff would exempt wheelchair-accessible vehicles and permit current hybrid vehicles to stay in use until 2032 (the seven year age limit would still apply).

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Photo: Capital Taxi
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Ottawa’s Capital Taxi receives 30 new 2023 Toyotas; first new cab goes to the longest-serving driver Emile Chahine

Rita Smith

makes perfect sense, then, that he was the first Capital driver in line to get one of the 30 brand new Toyotas the Taxi brokerage took delivery of in March, 2023. The new vehicles (22 Corolla hybrids and 8 RAV4s) were ordered in September 2022, in the midst of the North American supply chain crisis. At that time, Taxi drivers whose vehicles were aging out were being warned by dealerships that they would need to order their new one as much as a year in advance.

“I thought I would retire and take up some hobbies,” Emile Chahine says. “Retirement was boring! My son-in-law drove Taxi and suggested I try it out – that was 25 years ago. I’m 73 now, and still enjoy working.” Photo: Capital Taxi

“It’s beautiful, just fantastic!” Chahine enthuses. “A brand-new hybrid….although, it’s black, so in Ottawa that means you have to wash it every single day, to keep the salt and the dust off of it, to keep it shiny,” he laughs.

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