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

  • Australia faces tough choices over toll tags
    September 12, 2014
    With more than seven million tolling tags nearing the end of their life, delegates to ITS Australia’s 2014 National Electronic Tolling Conference had more than a passing interest debating possible ways forward. Rex Wright, chair of the Australian Toll Road Users’ Group, said the industry was potentially facing an AUD$100million bill over the next five years but the toll operators are committed to a unified national approach, consistent with the current interoperability.
    Read More
  • Webinar: Automation at ITS European Congress
    June 16, 2014
    A webinar organised by Ertico-ITS Europe at 1600 on 20 June will provide an overview of the main topics on Automation discussed during the ITS European Congress, highlighting the main outcomes of different initiatives organised during the Congress. The speakers, Dr Maxime Flament of Ertico-ITS Europe and Dr Lytrivis Panagiotis of ICCS, will share their views and provide feedback on events at the Congress. They will also debate the current progress in different areas relating to successful and sustainable
    Read More
  • Two weeks left to purchase early bird tickets for MaaS Market, London
    January 4, 2018
    Delegates have until 19 January to take advantage of the discounted £325 ($240) Early Bird tickets for ITS International‘s second MaaS Market – Concept to Delivery conference in London on 20 and 21 February. This year’s event will focus on the progress and obstacles faced by MaaS projects across Europe and will consist of presentations from Portugal, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Hamburg plus Birmingham, Manchester and Dundee from the UK. The programme will cover the political and regulatory implications,
    Read More
  • Uber suspended from resuming Arizona self-driving tests
    March 28, 2018
    Arizona’s state governor Doug Ducey has ordered officials to suspend Uber’s right to test autonomous vehicles on local roads pending the outcome of inquiries by national transport safety regulations – in a report from the BBC. It follows a letter that Ducey sent to the car-hailing company in which he stated that there had been an unquestionable failure to make safety the top priority.
    Read More

Highlighted Content