Toronto maps out new rules for vehicle-for-hire industry

Toronto City Council has amended its vehicles-for-hire rules to improve safety and accessibility of taxis and private transportation companies including Uber and Lyft. Toronto mayor John Tory, says:” These new and updated requirements are a necessary step in protecting the residents and visitors of this city. Regardless of where they are going or how far the distance, we want to make sure passengers are able to access the service and get to their destination safely." The new rules will make it mandatory
July 30, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Toronto City Council has amended its vehicles-for-hire %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 <span style="color: windowtext">rules</span> false https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/municode/toronto-code-546.pdf true false%> to improve safety and accessibility of taxis and private transportation companies including 8336 Uber and 8789 Lyft.

Toronto mayor John Tory, says:” These new and updated requirements are a necessary step in protecting the residents and visitors of this city. Regardless of where they are going or how far the distance, we want to make sure passengers are able to access the service and get to their destination safely."

The new rules will make it mandatory for all drivers to take a third-party training programme approved by the Canadian city. Preliminary topics will include safely transporting passengers, driving in an urban setting and providing an accessible service. In addition, all drivers will be required to securely mount all handheld devices to their vehicle and display notices if a camera is being used to record passengers.

The council says an Accessibility Fund Programme will help offset the higher cost of providing a wheelchair-accessible service. It will be funded through a regulatory charge on companies that do not provide this service.

As part of the move, the council has made changes to improve the licensing and enforcement of vehicles for hire. This includes increasing the amount of data that is collected to help inform future regulations.

The requirements will come into effect in January 2020.

Enforcement

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Quantum XYZ intends to launch air taxi service in Los Angeles
    December 4, 2018
    Quantum XYZ is seeking to use SureFly’s eight-rotor hybrid ‘octocopters’ to launch an air taxi service in Los Angeles. SureFly, a subsidiary of US technology company Workhorse, is currently pursuing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Quantum intends to submit an application to become a FAA-certified urban VTOL air carrier. The company’s president, Tony Thompson, says: “Once SureFly receives FAA Type certification, we
    Read More
  • European Bus Forum to show developments in European bus operations
    April 8, 2016
    Returning to Manchester in June 2016, the European Bus Forum is coming back to show the new faces, changes and developments to bus operations across Europe and the UK. Produced by the urban transport publication, Eurotransport and hosted by Transport for Greater Manchester, the one day conference and gala dinner will once again prove to be an unrivalled event for collaboration and high-standard networking. Improving vehicle safety is a key strategy used in addressing international and national road ca
    Read More
  • ADN says Bled will improve public transit efficiency
    April 23, 2019
    ADN Mobile Solutions has developed Bled, a technical solution which – in conjunction with bespoke training and gamification tools – is designed to help bus drivers improve their driving efficiency. The goal is to reduce public transit emissions and provide cost savings, monitoring the way that vehicles are driven, and picking up on activities such as sharp braking or acceleration, giving personalised recommendations based on driving context. Electronic and mechanical data from buses is analysed and presente
    Read More
  • ITS Asia Pacific Forum 2020: early bird registrations
    October 3, 2019
    Early bird registrations are open for the 17th ITS Asia Pacific Forum 2020 with the opportunity of saving up to $AUS200 (£109). ITS Australia says the forum, whose theme is ‘ITS Innovation Creating Liveable Communities’, “will demonstrate Australia’s new initiatives and adapted learnings from the advances of our neighbouring megacities”. Key topics will include Mobility as a Service, autonomous vehicles, data analytics and network development. The event will take place at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibit
    Read More

Highlighted Content