Toronto 2012 Taxicab Industry Review is on Track

Councillor Cesar Palacio Chair of L&S Committee

The City of Toronto will announce next week the schedule of the 2012 Taxicab Industry Review. The Toronto taxi industry has not had a comprehensive review since 1998. Mayor Ford and his administration has promised the industry a review that would lead to reforms. The taxi business employs about 13000 people.

“We have just finished sorting and classifying the volumes of information we collected on December 8, and next week we will have a time table in place for the review” said a spokesperson for the city “The only uncertainty is, if there is a work stoppage by city employees and we will know the answer by February 5, other than that we are on track to complete the review by the summer of 2012” the spokesperson added, during a phone conversation.

Among the topics that will dominate the review are; the effectiveness of the Ambassador program; conversion to a dedicated vehicle; on-demand accessible service; ownership and transferability of taxicab licences; leasing of standard taxicab licences; the role of designated agents; the role of taxicab brokerages; and other by-law amendments.

Beck Taxi, has emerged as the leader for the Toronto taxi industry. There are many levels of the industry including drivers associations, fleet garages, and brokerages who are following Beck Taxi's leadership. The Taxi Drivers Coalition is one of them. What Beck Taxi is doing is extraordinary. It is uniting an industry that most people think cannot be united. For the first time the Toronto taxi industry will speak with one accord.