Today, Toronto City Council approved an amendment to the Licensing of Vehicles-for-Hire Bylaw to allow accessible taxicab vehicles to remain in use for up to 10 model years. This vehicle age limit extension expires on December 31, 2025.
Council also approved a one year vehicle age limit extension for standard taxicabs, sedan limousines, and private transportation company (ride hail company) vehicles, which expires on December 31, 2023. Both extensions are effective immediately.
The bylaw amendment for accessible vehicles will provide taxicabs, limousines and private transportation companies the flexibility to continue to provide accessible and reliable transportation services and more time to purchase appropriate replacement vehicles, given the ongoing supply chain issues affecting the vehicle industry.
Under the current bylaw, taxicabs, sedan limousines and private transportation companies are not permitted to use vehicles more than seven model years old. In 2020, Council temporarily extended this vehicle age limit to nine years for all taxicabs and limousines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That extension would have expired at the end of 2022, at which time 62 per cent of the wheelchair-accessible taxicab fleet in Toronto would have reached their vehicle age limit. The bylaw amendment approved today will ensure that Toronto is able to maintain the availability of vehicle-for-hire services, including TTC Wheel-Trans’ contracted taxicab services and wheelchair accessible on-demand vehicles-for-hire.
Vehicle owners will continue to be required to submit annual mechanical safety inspection certificates and comply with all safety and maintenance requirements in the bylaw to ensure that vehicles continue to be safe.
More information is available on the City’s Vehicle-for-Hire Bylaw Updates webpage: https://www.toronto.ca/city-go
Quotes:
“We are doing everything we can do to support the accessible taxicab industry as the recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The extension for accessible taxicabs approved by City Council today offers some flexibility to the industry without compromising safety and ensures that people continue to have safe, readily available and accessible transportation options.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Today’s decision aligns with the City’s multi-year accessibility plan to provide on-demand, accessible vehicle-for-hire service. It protects the health and well-being of people with disabilities and seniors who use mobility devices and rely on this service to carry on with their day-to-day activities and access important services.”
– Councillor Paul Ainslie (Scarborough-Guildwood), Chair of the General Government and Licensing Committee
SOURCE City of Toronto
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