Safety consultations need to proceed despite Grant’s retirement: CTA
Passenger safety must be highest priority, Way says
The recent incident in which an Ottawa teen girl was injured after being dragged by her Uber driver highlights the need to make passenger safety and consumer protection the highest priority for the Vehicle for Hire industry, says the Canadian Taxi Association (CTA).
Together with the March incident in Toronto in which an Uber driver inadvertently pulled away from a family’s home with a five-year-old girl still sleeping on the back bench, the events highlight the need for constant vigilance on the part of industry and regulators, CTA president Marc André Way says.
Carleton Grant, Executive Director Municipal Licensing and Standards at City of Toronto, has announced that he will be retiring in October, 2025. On June 26th, Way wrote to Mr. Grant to congratulate him upon his announced retirement. Way expressed his hopes that Vehicle for Hire (VFH) stakeholder consultations on passenger safety and emergency contact policies will proceed without delay despite Grant’s retirement in the weeks ahead.
In writing Grant to congratulate him upon his announced retirement, Way expressed his hopes that Vehicle for Hire (VFH) stakeholder consultations on passenger safety and emergency contact policies will proceed without delay despite Grant’s retirement.
“Allow me to start by congratulating you on your recently announced retirement. Over your many years as a dedicated civil servant, you have done a yeoman’s job for the citizens of Toronto, and the Canadian Taxi Association sends you best wishes for a wonderful retirement,” Way wrote on June 26th.
“I am writing with regard to the Vehicle for Hire industry stakeholder consultations which were directed to be organized on April 23, 2025 as part of Councillor Mike Colle’s motion to update Toronto’s emergency contact system for firms providing Vehicle for Hire services.
As a leader in the Taxi industry, Way says, “…We are hard at work developing new and improved emergency contact, vehicle identification and industry standards. These are being designed to make our Vehicle for Hire systems safer for consumers and more efficient in terms of collaborating with police services and government agencies.
In addition to effective use of traditional technologies including:
- Roof signs and lit domes;
- Municipally-issued numbered plates; and
- In-car security features, such as security cameras;
We are researching and developing:
- RFID sticker technology;
- Digital electronic identification; and
- Enhanced driver verification systems.
Advisory Committees should be re-constituted, Way recommends
It was a mistake to let existing “Taxi Advisory Committees” lapse in cities across Canada when rideshare was legalized, says Way, who suggests the Advisory Committees should be re-constituted, involve rideshare firms like Uber and Lyft:
“In addition to using mechanical, digital and administrative options to improve passenger safety and security, the CTA is also very much in support of returning to the previous ‘Advisory Committee’ activities which were once standard practice in Canadian municipalities. For example, Toronto’s previous ‘Taxicab Advisory Committee’ (TAC) format could be expanded to include representatives from the wider variety of service providers as a ‘Vehicle for Hire Advisory Committee’ (VAC).
We all work with the reality that technology advances very quickly, and traditional legislative systems are hard-pressed to develop a regulatory framework for novel and emerging services. Standing VAC meetings on a predictable schedule would help industry and government work together most effectively to keep passengers safe and consumers protected.
The CTA looks forward to having the opportunity to discuss these advancements in safety and security at the upcoming Toronto VFH stakeholder consultation. It is with some dismay that we have received information from informed sources that this consultation will not include the Taxi industry or Police services, but will be limited to discussions only with Private Transportation Companies.
Should this be the case, none of the research and development being done by VFH industry members in other cities in recent months would be available to Toronto officials developing the new system directed by Toronto Council on April 23rd.
We had a recent example in Ottawa, during which the Ottawa Police Service was called upon to step in and resolve a chaotic festival situation which could have been easily managed with existing Taxi industry technologies. Unfortunately, neither the event organizers or the OPS were aware of this planning oversight and the result was unsafe and unpleasant for everyone.
I hope you will write to re-assure me that the Canadian Taxi Association, Police services and other key interested and helpful parties will be part of Toronto’s upcoming consultation on emergency contacts and passenger safety.”
"We all work with the reality that technology advances very quickly,
and traditional legislative systems are hard-pressed
to develop a regulatory framework for novel and emerging services."
--Marc Andre Way, President
Canadian Taxi Association
To date, no updates on the status of the stakeholder consultation on passenger safety and emergency contacts have been provided to Councillor Mike Colle’s office, or Taxi News since Colle’s motion was passed on April 23rd.
