Vehicle for hire driver training to be discussed today at Licensing Committee meeting
Now labelled item GL26.11, driver training will be discussed at the meeting which begins at 9:30am and will be broadcast on Toronto’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/TorontoCityCouncilLive or by clicking on the image above.
| Driver training for all Vehicle for Hire drivers, which was referred to the November 30th General Government and Licensing Committee, will be discussed at the October 20th General Government and Licensing Committee meeting. Now labelled item GL26.11, driver training will be discussed at the meeting which begins at 9:30am and will be broadcast on Toronto’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/TorontoCityCouncilLive. The meeting of the General Government and Licensing Committee will be conducted electronically by video conference, via Webex. Registered speakers can join the meeting by telephone, smartphone, tablet or computer. According to information received from Toronto’s Clerk’s office, instructions on how to join are sent after the Speaker has been registered, usually one business day before the meeting takes place. The meeting will be webcast, and can be viewed on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/TorontoCityCouncilLive. |
Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam submitted a Notice of Motion regarding Vehicle for Hire driver training and testing to the October City Council meeting.
Wong-Tam’s Motion suggested that Toronto pause issuing licenses to Vehicle for Hire drivers until the driver training and testing program which is now two years overdue is actually implemented. Licensing and Standards staff blame the two year delay on COVID-19; during this period, approximately 40,000 drivers were licensed in Toronto.to
From Council’s Decision Document of October 5th:
1. City Council request the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards to consider pausing the issuance of new vehicle-for-hire and private transportation company driver’s licences until such time as a driver training accreditation program is established, and applicants have demonstrated completion of a driver training course to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards as per By-law 1517-2019.
2. City Council request the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, in consultation with the City Solicitor, to include the following as part of the scheduled report back to the November 30, 2021 meeting of the General Government and Licensing Committee on the status of an accreditation program and any driver training courses required to licence new vehicle-for-hire and private transportation company drivers, including:
a. a report with confidential attachment, if needed, on any legal issues that may exist with respect to the delayed implementation of the driver training program;
b. the number of drivers who have been issued a licence since June 1, 2020;
c. a plan for implementing the driver training program for current and new licensees; and
d. changes to service levels, including number of passenger trips, drivers available, and any relevant information pertaining to licensing, reported by Vehicles-for-Hire and Private Transportation companies due to the pandemic between March 2020 to present.
