Friday, October 30, 2026
Taxi News & Road Warrior News

Taxi industry news

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Toronto expands Traffic Agents Program

RWN Staff

The City of Toronto is expanding its Traffic Agents Program. A total of 30 Traffic Agents are budgeted to be deployed this year, with the first wave of new employees currently being deployed to critical intersections across Toronto.

The City’s Traffic Agents program is a congestion management strategy that places Traffic Agents employed by the City at key intersections during the morning and afternoon peak traffic periods. Traffic Agents ensure all road users comply with traffic laws and regulations, helping to reduce congestion and increase road safety. They also play a crucial role in ensuring roads are clear for emergency services and public transit.

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Ottawa Courthouse Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Guest ContributionsOpinion/ColumnRide Hailing newsTaxi industry news

City “kept a tight grip on who could operate in the taxi industry” says Conway opening statement

Guest Contributor

A significant part of the regulatory history in the taxi industry is that the City has consistently

tightly controlled who can participate in the industry. Only licensed brokers, plate owners, and

licensed drivers could operate legally in the industry.

The City prohibited anyone else from doing so. For years, the City enforced the by-laws to stop

what it called, “bandit cabs,” and unlicensed brokers from operating. The City investigated these

unlawful operators, charged them, and ensured that the illegal taxi services were stopped. In

many instances, the City’s enforcement efforts were done in cooperation with members in the

taxi industry. Up until 2014, the City kept a tight grip on who could operate in the taxi industry
and made sure that any illegal activity was stopped.

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Photo: LinkedIn
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PSAC announces April 19 strike date

RWN Staff

More than 155,000 PSAC members working for Treasury Board and the Canada Revenue Agency will begin strike action on April 19 if a deal cannot be reached by 9 p.m. ET April 18 – setting the stage for one of the largest strikes in Canada’s history.

“We’ve made some progress at each of our four bargaining tables over the past two weeks, but we’re still too far apart on several key issues, including wages that keep up with the cost of living, job security and remote work language,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC National President.

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Toronto City Hall Photo: Toronto.ca
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April 17th Toronto’s first Net Zero virtual info session

RWN Staff

The City is now inviting feedback from the stakeholders and the public on the proposed regulatory approach (summarized below). Comments and feedback can be submitted in three ways: at a virtual information session, via an online survey or via email. The feedback received will inform a staff report that is expected at the Economic and Community Development Committee in May.

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Rental bike, hacked and abandoned on the street in the UK. Photo: Twitter
Delivery/Courier newsMedia releaseNewsRide Hailing newsTaxi industry news

Is bike rental system actually working? UK city asks

RWN Staff

Westminster City Council is calling for dockless bike companies to crack down on hackers, in a media release published April 13th in the United Kingdom. Similar complaints have been made about rental bikes and scooters in U.S. cities.

Videos circulating across social media demonstrate how to bypass the dockless bike software and use bikes for free.

Concerns have been raised that riders using hacked bikes are untraceable, meaning the users can potentially dump bikes on the pavement without facing punishment and could even be involved in antisocial behaviour.

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February 2023 work on the "Gordie Howe Bridge" progresses. Photo: WDBA
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Update on “Gordie Howe Bridge” at May 4th Hamilton event

Rita Smith

The Hamilton Transportation Club (HTC) is pleased to announce that its Spring Address is scheduled on May 4, 2023, with a special update on the status of the new “Gordie Howe International Bridge guest speaker Heather Grondin, vice president of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority.

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Controlled burn. Photo: Wikipedia
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You may see smoke around TO’s High Park April 13

Guest Contributor

The City of Toronto will conduct a prescribed burn in High Park on April 13, as current forecasts predict optimal weather conditions. High Park will be closed to vehicles starting at 7 a.m. and will be reopened once smoke has dissipated, likely by early evening. Public access around the burn sites and some surrounding areas will be temporarily restricted for safety.

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Ottawa contains numerous historic neighbourhoods and municipalities. Source: Ontario.ca
Feature/ProfileRide Hailing newsTaxi industry news

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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