Toronto “just punting” cap issue, RDAO says
“Communications campaign” won’t fix issue of 86,000 vehicles
Toronto still has approximately 86,000 Vehicles for Hire cruising the roads, with no cap in sight.
However, Mayor Olivia Chow’s motion to launch a “communications and intergovernmental campaign focusing on raising the floor for gig workers” was passed by Toronto Council on December 18th.
“They are just punting the issue,” says George Wedge, president of the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario.
“They are trying to address the Vehicle for Hire wages report, but this is not the solution,” says Wedge, who has called for the total number of rideshare and Taxi drivers to be capped at 40,000. Rideshare and Taxi industry members alike believe the oversupply of licensed VFH drivers is keeping everyone’s earnings at poverty levels.
The Analysis of Driver Earnings in Toronto’s Vehicle-for-Hire Industry calculated that the average rideshare driver in Toronto netted $5.97 per hour in 2023.
Wedge points out that an awareness campaign targeted at the public and users of rideshare services like Uber and Lyft might be helpful, but an “intergovernmental campaign” is not likely to accomplish anything more than Chow’s December 4th letter to Ontario’s Labour Minister David Piccini, asking him to revisit Bill 88 before enacting it next July. This is the law which redefined “work” to include a new concept referred to as “engaged time,” which permits rideshare drivers to be considered to be working only when they have a fare in the vehicle.
The motion considered by Council reads:
“The Executive Committee recommends that: 1. City Council request the City Manager to initiate a communications and intergovernmental campaign focusing on raising the floor for gig workers, including Vehicle-for-Hire drivers, ensuring they are able to make a living wage.”
