Extending life of Accessible Taxis on today’s agenda at Licensing Committee

Photo: Toronto.ca

Licensing and Standards staff have recommended a temporary 3-year extension on the life of customized Accessible vans in a report which will be considered today as part of the General Government and Licensing Committee meeting. The GGL Committee meeting is scheduled to start at 9:30am; Taxi News will post the video live stream when it becomes available.

This item, #GL32.29, is one of the final items on the agenda.

According to the report submitted by Licensing staff on June 20, “Staff have heard concerns from the taxicab industry and engaged with TTC WheelTrans and accessible vehicle converters in the GTA about the current market availability of wheelchair-accessible vehicles to replace the expiring licensed wheelchair-accessible taxicabs. Due to on-going supply chain issues, which have affected the motor vehicle industry, it is anticipated that there will be an insufficient number of vans that can be converted to be wheelchair-accessible in Toronto and surrounding areas within the timeframe necessary to comply with the existing requirements of Chapter 546.” the June 20 report states.

“This may prevent wheelchair-accessible taxicab owners from being able to replace their vehicles resulting in reduced availability of accessible vehicles for the TTC Wheel-Trans’ contracted services and effect on-demand wheelchair-accessible transportation services in the city.”

Therefore, staff recommend amending Chapter 546 “…such that, until December 31, 2025, a wheelchair-accessible taxicab may be up to 10 model years old. On January 1, 2026, Extending the Vehicle Age of Accessible Taxicabs Page 2 of 6 this provision would be repealed such that wheelchair-accessible taxicabs will again be required to be no more than 7 model years old.

“This will provide the flexibility for taxicab operators to continue to provide accessible transportation services while providing time for supply chain issues to resolve and taxicab owners to source and purchase appropriate replacement vehicles. Taxicab owners will continue to be required to submit annual mechanical safety inspection certificates and comply with all safety and maintenance requirements in Chapter 546 to ensure that the wheelchair-accessible vehicles continue to be safe to operate as taxicabs.”