T O R O N T O ’ S TA X I C A B I N D U S T R Y R E V I E W
A c c e s s i b l e Ta x i c a b S e r v i c e
Tracey Cook
Executive Director
Municipal Licensing & Standards
C i t y o f To r o n t o
Jan 9, 2014
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To r o n t o ’s Ta x i c a b I n d u s t r y R e v i e w
• Municipal Licensing and Standards Division licenses and
regulates businesses and trades within the City of
Toronto, including taxicab owners, drivers and taxicab
brokerages.
• In 2011, the Licensing and Standards Committee
directed staff to undertake a comprehensive review of
Toronto’s taxicab industry.
• The Review has included more than 40 consultations,
100 stakeholder meetings and three issue-based
surveys which have collectively had over 3,000
responses.
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Framework for Change
• Staff have received and analyzed thousands of emails,
phone calls and letters containing issues and
recommendations as part of the Review.
• Stakeholder engagement has been the foundation of the
final recommendations.
• Several consultations and meetings were dedicated to
the issue of accessible taxicab service.
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• Submission from
the Spinal Cord
Injury Ontario
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• Endorsement
from 6 provincial
organizations
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A C C E S S I B L E T A X I C A B O V E RV I E W
• AODA requirements
• Issues
• TTC Wheel-trans
• Cost of Vehicles
• Strategies
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AODA
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
• Develops, implements and enforces accessibility standards in order
to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to
goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings,
structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025.
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AODA Requirements
• AODA requires that all municipalities consult on, and take steps to,
provide on-demand wheelchair accessible taxicab service.
AODA defines “on-demand” as
• the ability for a person requiring a wheelchair accessible taxicab to
request and receive service in the same way as people who do not
need wheelchair accessible taxicabs. This includes telephoning for a
taxicab or hailing a taxicab on the street.
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AODA Requirements
Under AODA legislation, the City is required to:
1. consult with its municipal accessibility advisory committee, the
public and persons with disabilities to determine the proportion of
on-demand accessible taxicabs required in the community .
2. create an accessibility plan that identifies progress made toward
meeting the need for on-demand accessible taxicabs.
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A c c e s s i b l e Ta x i c a b I s s u e s
• People with disabilities, including those who rely on wheelchair
accessible transportation, face challenges in obtaining affordable
and on-demand taxicab service in Toronto.
• Only 3.5% of all Toronto taxicabs are wheelchair accessible. Most of
these taxicabs are not readily available for on-demand taxicab
service because they are contracted to deliver public transportation
service through TTC Wheel-trans.
• This means that many residents and visitors who are in wheelchairs
cannot expect on-demand taxicab service in Toronto as is available
to other passengers.
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A c c e s s i b l e Ta x i c a b I s s u e s - D e m a n d
• Currently very hard to determine the number of wheelchair
accessible taxicabs required to meet demand
• Without accessible taxicabs trip data available (due to the lack of
accessible taxicabs readily available for on-demand), consultant’s
model was based on international benchmark
•
Estimated that 6% of the fleet would need to be accessible to service current
demand
Considerations
– How can the City assess actual demand for accessible taxicabs?
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C o s t o f A c c e s s i b l e Ve h i c l e s
• Research indicates that accessible vehicles in Toronto cost
between $25,000 to $50,000
• Cost to convert vehicles
– $11,000 for rear load
– $20,000 for side load
Range of costs for vehicles (+taxes)
Dodge Caravan (New) - $20,000 - $25,000
Dodge Caravan (1 year old) - $17,000 -$19,000
Toyota Sienna New - $30,000 - $37,000
MV1 - $46,000 basic model (conversion not required)
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Approaches to on-demand accessible
taxicab service
• The City of Toronto needs to increase its availability of wheelchair
accessible taxicabs to both serve the needs of residents and visitors
and to meet its obligations under AODA.
• Staff analyzed two (2) strategies for increasing the number of
wheelchair accessible taxicabs.
1. Proportional wheelchair accessible taxicab service
2. 100% wheelchair accessible taxicab service
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Proportional Approach
• Mandate service standards equivalent to brokered taxi calls for nonaccessible taxis
• Access to wheelchair accessible taxis limited to requesting a ride (e.g.,
no hailing)
• This strategy allows for specialist drivers to provide enhanced
wheelchair passenger service and assistance
Considerations
• How many do we need?
• Who will have to buy accessible vehicles?
• How many new licenses will need to be issued ?
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100% Approach
• To ensure the same level of service between passengers who need,
and do not need, a wheelchair, the City would have to plan for 100%
wheelchair accessible taxicab service.
• This would mean that a person, regardless of mobility, would be able to
obtain a taxicab, including hailing one on the street.
Considerations
• Cost to the industry
• Ability to deliver service to passengers with disabilities
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100% Approach
• The Framework recommends that as taxicab licences are transferred,
the new owner of the taxicab licence would have to purchase an
accessible vehicle.
• This would mean that no existing licence holder would have to buy an
accessible vehicle.
• Applies to those who are issued a Toronto Taxicab Licence after
January 1, 2014, either through voluntary exchange or transfer.
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QUESTIONS?
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THANK Y OU
More information on the Taxicab Industry Review can be found at:
Website:
Email:
Phone:
TTY:
www.toronto.ca/taxireview
taxireview@toronto.ca
416-338-3095
416-338-0889
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