free - taxitaxinews.com/resources/taxi_news_october_2017_web.pdf · free publications mail...
TRANSCRIPT
FreePublications Mail Registration No.
40050017
London declaresUber unfit… page 4
CoverCAB
A brief lessonin politics… page 7
What is City doingon the taxi file? page 2
This month’s Cover Cab is Ambassador owner Martin Ceh-Seremet who this
year marks his 50th anniversary driving taxi in Toronto. Driving cab has been
good to him, says Ceh-Seremet but the recent advent of Uber has taken a big
cut out of his bottom line. He hopes Toronto learns a lesson from other
jurisdictions that are finally cracking down on the upstart tech behemoth.
Who’s in the wheelhouse?When Uber’s largest European marketplace, London, England, announces the app-based taxi dispatch company is not having its license renewed, it has to be a wake-up call for every other jurisdiction in the world. Or so you would think. Sadly, no one at Toronto city hall appears to be much interested in the rapidly deteriorating state of its vehicle-for-hire industry…
See stories, beginning page 2Editorial, page 6
October 2017 Vol. 32 No. 10
by Mike Beggs“Look, September is gone. We have no (report),” says Sajid Mu-ghal, president of the iTaxiworkers Association.
The Toronto taxi industry has been anxiously awaiting the one-year Review of the new Vehicle-For-Hire (VFH) Bylaw, which was due July 1 from the office of Toronto Municipal Licensing & Standards executive director Trac-ey Cook.
Meanwhile, a whopping 40,000 Uber X cars are now playing To-ronto streets, cutting ever deeper into the dwindling revenues of li-censed cab drivers and owners.
And Mughal points out that over the past year, reports were expect-ed from Cook on, not only on the bylaw, but on security cameras, Toronto Taxi Licenses (TTL’s), the price of taxi rides, and vehicle in-spections.
“I think Tracey Cook was sup-posed to bring her first report in January, or February about the cameras. But she will bring it this January, or February -- when a year has gone by,” he says sarcas-tically.
This show of indifference has made industry members at large
wonder if there’s any point in at-tending, or deputating at the City’s Licensing and Standards Commit-tee or Council meetings.
“That’s a good question,” Mu-ghal says. “It’s almost a quarter of a century I’ve been going down to city hall. Whatever we achieved in that period of time, in one Council meeting (last spring) everything went down the drain.”
“The corporations can now buy the plates -- as many as they want. There’s no need for a DOT (inspec-tion), no need for driver training. All of these things we achieved over the years (are gone).”
When asked about Cook’s Re-view, long-time owner Thomas Stern responds, “It’s a long time in coming. It doesn’t make me feel optimistic.
“(The delay is) just prolonging the (cruelty). I don’t expect that much (from her report), and the situation is not very good.”
Like all owners, Stern has watched his plate, and rental val-ues shrink down to a nominal amount, after serving Toronto consumers for many years, while following rules laid down by the City. And his retirement years now don’t seem so golden.
“I don’t think it’s just, if you’ve invested in the industry,” he says. “You’re getting nothing (now). If you put it in a bank, you would have less headaches.
“What did we do wrong? It’s pa-thetic.”
Of the report’s status, Best Tech Taxi owner Baljit Sikand muses, “A report will be coming, any time they want. What I’m upset about is, why are they not enforcing the bylaw?
“Right from day one, I’ve said a level playing field is the one issue to focus on. How can we compete when one side of the ground is up and the other side is level?”
He believes with a level play-ing field and proper enforcement, “the taxi industry can revive and survive.”
“But, I think the enforcement is mostly non-existent,” he adds. “And I believe, where there’s a will there’s a way.”
Sikand says he has seen only a handful of Uber X cars bearing the obligatory identification stickers, downtown.
“If I don’t renew my sticker in time, one week passes and they pull the plate,” he complains. “That’s what they are enforc-
ing against the taxi industry. So, how come they don’t do that with Uber?”
Mughal estimates less than 10 percent of Uber X cars bear this sticker.
But he suggests the Uber sticker “means nothing” anyway, with-out an identification number to go with it. He cites several allegations of sexual assault against unmarked Uber drivers, over the past year – and points to the peril of young women climbing into an unmarked car, late at night in the entertain-ment district.
“They’re saying every car is dis-patched through the app, but this is not the case,” he alleges. “They are just on the streets. There’s no ID number for the customer (to give to the authorities)…We have our plate number. They should have an ID number, as well.”
What more, he believes every Uber X car should have a cam-era, like cabs. (The Councils in several GTA municipalities have made cameras optional for Uber X drivers, at the company’s request. The company says it’s GPS tech-nology provides added security for passengers, and that its many part-time drivers can’t afford the $1,000-plus price tag for a cam-era).
“If the camera is there, the public would never dare do these things,” Mughal continues. “Since we have these cameras, crimes are down by 70 percent in taxis.”
“The City, why don’t they do the right thing and put cameras in every Uber vehicle? Where are the councillors? They are nowhere. They don’t do anything without getting something back. They have no conscience at all,” he alleges.
On the road since 1988 – and now flying the “Ford Nation” flag in his cab (in support of 2018 Mayoral candidate Doug Ford), independent Mohammed Ahmed laments, “We are nothing. The
City always treated us badly.”And asked if the City’s question-
able handling of Uber is a function of greed, or a lack of knowledge of the industry, he shrugs, “All of the above.”
“In the taxi industry, they were issuing plates according to popula-tion and growth of the city. They were one way, and the next thing Uber comes in and has flooded the city (with vehicles for hire),” the father of seven says.
“The responsibility for this is with John Tory, if everybody ends up on welfare. Every day, it’s get-ting worse. Soon, I’m going to be bankrupt. If I don’t make money, what am I going to do?”
With a sea of Uber X cars now competing with the city’s 5,000 cabs, Mughal reports, “On the weekend, people can’t move. The highway doesn’t move….You’re putting 40,000 cars on the road, for what reason?”
He’s among many who fear the City is hell-bent on deregulation.
“You know what? It’s a sicken-ing idea,” he says.
Deregulation has had a devas-tating track record in several cities -- spiking the competition amongst drivers to untenable levels, while lowering the standards of service and vehicles to dangerous levels.
From Hamilton, owner/• see page 9
2 October 2017
2775 Birchmount Road, Scarborough, Ontario M1W 2L7
Tel: (416) 293-7907 Fax: (416) 293-7654
Open 8am to 8pmEXPERIENCED D.O.T. SPECIALIST
$50 per hour + parts Taxi Only
PLATE WANTED FOR LEASE
EAST
AZ TAXI 1364 Kingston Rd. Toronto, ON M1N 1C8Offi ce: 416-894-8972Offi ce: 647-898-7262Fax: 416-629-8180Email: [email protected]
CONNAUGHT AUTO801 Danforth Rd. Toronto, ON M1K 1H1Offi ce: 416-820-5039Email: [email protected]
VIRK AUTO 1355 Gerrard St. E. Toronto, ON M4L 1Y8Jahan Cell: 416-624-7449Mohammad Cell: 416-371-1138
HPM TAXI 14 Thora Rd. Toronto, ON M1L 2P8Offi ce: 416-690-8641Email: [email protected]
NTC TAXI318 Greenwood Ave.Toronto, ON M4L 2R8Rajai Tel: 416-871-0464Nasser Cell: 416-528-3611Fax: 416-273-1871Email:[email protected]
MANVILLE AUTO 140 Manville Rd. Toronto, ON M1L 4J5Offi ce:416-288-9722Fax: 416-288-8982Email: [email protected]
ANGELO’S TAXI SOLID ONE863 Eastern Ave. Rear Unit Toronto, ON M4L 1A2Nick or PennyTel: 416-955-9806 or Tel: 416-955-9817Fax: 416-955-9817Tula Tel: [email protected] • www.solidone.ca
LONGHORN TRANSPORTATIONArfan647-533-7835Email: [email protected] Birchmount Rd, Scarborough, ON M1K 1N3
ANS GARAGE9 Dibble St. Toronto, ON M4M 2E7Nirmal Malhi orJatinger SinghTel: 416-463-9917Tel: 416-779-9917Fax: 416-463-1016Email: [email protected]
GLENDOWER TAXI2775 Birchmount Rd.Toronto, ON M1W 2C7Offi ce: 416-293-7907Fax: 416-293-6654
TOTAL TAXI3561 Danforth Ave.Toronto, ON M1L 1E3Offi ce:416-822-6625Email:[email protected]
SOUTH SHORE FLEET MANAGEMENT INC.318 Greenwood Ave. Toronto, ON M4L 2R8Kabishan or Germaine Cell: (647)409-5224Email: germaine.muirhead@southshorefl eet.ca or [email protected]
ZULFIQAR ALICell: 647-686-6928Email: zulfi [email protected]
ACTIVE AUTO3561 Danforth Ave, Toronto ON M1L 1E3Open 24/7 Offi ce: 416-693-5420Ali Cell: 416-704-1451Email: [email protected]
LESLIEVILLE TAXI 759 Eastern Ave, Toronto, ON M4M 1E9Wasim Syed Garage: 416-465-3106Cell: 416-833-2701Email: [email protected]
SURMA MOTORSCell: 416-845-0541
ASIF ALI CHEEMA Cell: 647-293-5305
CHOWDHURY ABUL K.Cell: 647-868-0705
DOWNTOWN & WEST
MIRZA TRANSPORTATION282 Geary Ave. Toronto, ON M6H 2C5Babar Mirza or Ashraf MirzaOffi ce: 416-530-1316Cell: 416-836-4749Email: [email protected]
PRIME TAXIc/o Jutt Motors1000 Weston Rd. Toronto, ON M6N 3S1Mohammad Arshad,Wariach, NajeezOffi ce:416-531-4200Fax: 416-762-4949Email: [email protected]
SM TAXI296 Brock Ave, Toronto, ON M6K 2M4Sanny ChowdhuryGarage: 416-516-8181Cell: 416-220-0119
STAR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION1102 Ossington Av. Toronto, ON M6G 3W1VitoOffi ce:416-539-8906Fax: 416-539-8997
HUI-BIN LOO15 Florence St. Toronto, ON M6K 1P4Hui-Bin LooOffi ce: 647-895-6876
CHECKER CAB1655 Dupont St., #303 Toronto, ON M6P 3T1DannyOffi ce:416-504-0064Fax: 416-504-0064Email: [email protected]
BAJWA TAXI 41 Eddystone Ave, North York, ON M3N 1H5Bajwa or Sunny Email: [email protected]: 416-741-6904
SADI TAXI 89 Lewis St, Toronto, ON M4M 2H2SadiOffi ce:416-462-0404Cell:416-727-8766Email: [email protected]
QUALITY CARS1526 Keele St. Toronto, ON M6N 3E9Noor SaeedOffi ce: 416-782-2200Cell: 416-456-5050Fax: 416-782-2200
DELUXE TAXI490 Dupont St, Toronto, ON M6G 1Y6 Zaheer AhmedCell: 416-720-6154Email: [email protected]
BK AUTO SERVICES1750 Keele St. Toronto, ON M6M 3W8Kabir Bozul or Rita KhanOffi ce: 416-654-3333Fax: 416-651-7933Kabir Bozul Cell: 416-573-4275
CO-OP CABS & CROWN TAXI - FLEET GARAGES
Is anyone at city hall paying attention to the dire state of affairs they’ve created in Toronto’s vehicle-for-hire industry?
A report will be coming, any time they want. What I’m upset about is, why are they not enforcing the bylaw?
3 October 2017
SW SALES LTD. 3199 DANFORTH AVENUE
(2 BLOCKS EAST OF VICTORIA PARK)
CALL SAM AT: (416) 733-3773OR (416) 566-2210
TAXI TAXI EX-POLICE CARSTOYOTA CAMRY, COROLLA
& NISSAN ALTIMAFINANCING AVAILABLE
ATTENTION DRIVERS!PETER'S TAXI LTD. has moved to a new location to serve you better. We are now located at 75 Crockford Blvd.(I block East of Warden, South of Lawrence) We specialize in taxi service.
D.O.T. INSPECTIONS H BRAKESTUNE-UPS H OIL CHANGES
BECK, DIAMOND AND CO-OP TAXICABS are available on a daily or weekly basis.
For more information call John or Dawit at (416)-365-2121 Or Drop in at 75 Crockford Blvd.
Tyrone Crawford, b.a., m.ed.,ll.b.
Taxi Plate SalesTaxi Plate Purchases
Taxi Tribunal HearingsCriminal Charges
Traffic TicketsIncorporations
House Sales
House PurchasesMortgages
Wills and Power of Attorney’s
NotariesPromissory Notes
4945 DUNDAS STREET WEST, TORONTO, ON M9A 1B6 between Kipling and Islington
TELEPHONE: 416-760-8118CELL: 416-827-1611FAX: 416-760-8175
LAWYER
by Mike Beggs
Perhaps reflecting wide-spread disillusionment, only a handful of cab
industry members turned out for the September 18 meeting of Mississauga’s Public Vehicle Advisory Committee (PVAC).
With the contentious 18-month Pilot Project for Uber X vehicles now underway, staff filed a report containing a line-by-line review of the Public Vehicle Licens-ing Bylaw 420-04, as directed by Council in April , “with an eye to eliminating or modifying all and every bylaw or resolution, to par-allel those in the regulations for the Pilot Project governing TNC’s. (These measures were pushed for by Councillor Carolyn Parrish, to ensure licensed cabbies would be operating on the same playing field as Uber X cars).
In its review of the bylaw, Staff identified more than 60 possible amendments, and suggested, “a rewrite of the bylaw in its entirety may be appropriate, due to chang-es in the industry.”
“With 60 amendments in the two schedules, you would have more amendments than the actual bylaw. It might be better to create a replacement bylaw,” explained Michael Foley, manager of vehicle licensing.
In the end, PVAC members ap-proved industry representative Harsimar Singh Sethi’s motion that the Staff report go out to in-dustry for perusal, before being brought back at the committee’s next meeting on October 31.
PVAC Brokerage rep Baljit Singh Pandori agreed, “We should bring the report back one more time and make sure of where we want to go.”
Citizen Member Al Cormier was “extremely supportive” of these amendments, believing for years that the taxi industry has been, “overregulated.”
Staff also recommended an amendment to allow cabbies to go off the meter and offer flat rates up front , so they could, “better com-pete (with Uber) on price.”
“With the TNC’s, the price is clear before the ride,” Foley said. “With the taxi industry it’s a mys-tery, because of issues like traffic.”
All-Star Taxi manager Mark Sexsmith objected vehemently to the City’s issuance of 38 taxi plates to drivers on the waiting list, coinciding with the kickoff of the TNC Pilot Project in July.
Noting there are now 32 plates
on the shelf, he argued that in put-ting out these plates Council ig-nored the advice of taxi industry stakeholders, a unanimous recom-mendation from PVAC, a Staff report, and the conclusions of outside consultant Dan Hara who observed that Mississauga has an appropriate number of cabs on the road.
“The critical thesis of the Hara Report is that regular taxi service is more than adequate, and that was ignored by Council in their vote to issue 38 taxi plates,” he said. “(The Hara Report stated that) the major shortage is in the supply of wheelchair accessible taxis.”
Sexsmith claimed the $60,000 price tag for one of these convert-ed vans would be “unpalatable” to the 38 drivers. And he called on the City to set up a purchase incen-tive for these vehicles.
“What businessman will pay $60,000 for a wheelchair accessi-ble car, which has higher insurance rates, and requires vehicle inspec-tions, and training requirements to not even bring in the same amount of money?” he asked. “There’s ab-solutely no income, and it’s the di-rect result of Council’s decision.”
He noted that, “I can buy a $15,000 car, rent a plate for $200 a month, and I’m in business as a taxi.”
Foley responded that there is no real limit on the number of plates available, and if a broker wants more wheelchair accessible plates, “they only have to make a busi-
ness case and we will issue them.”“But I think it would be pru-
dent to wait for the TNC Report to come out in 18 months (before ad-dressing the issue of subsidies),” he added.
Cormier agreed the economics of running a wheelchair accessible taxi, “have gone out the window.”
He proposed that staff have a report ready for the next PVAC meeting, “with options for getting them back on track”, and his mo-tion carried.
PVAC also approved Sethi’s motion to extend the life of 2011 model year vehicles by one year, “because there is less wear and tear on their cars” (due to the heavy competition from Uber). PVAC Chair Ron Starr said this did not appear to be an unreason-able request, and the motion was approved.
Pandori then asked Staff for an update on TNC’s.
Foley confirmed that, as of July 4, TNC’s licensed to Uber are now operating in the city. He said in-spections are being carried out on TNC’s, and that the City is in the process of hiring more inspectors. And data is now being collected from Uber and being monitored.
“They have been very coopera-tive with the City, and are working very closely with Staff to provide the data. So we are pretty much on track,” he said.
However, Pandori said he doesn’t see any tickets being handed out to Uber X drivers. And he wondered about the status of
charges against Uber X drivers, dating back two years.
“They’re still going through the courts,” Foley responded. “There are considerations on both sides, but the courts are looking at it. It’s a big drawn-out process. I think they’re trying to address all 200, or 300 cases at one time.”
Pandori complained that, just like in Toronto, many Uber X ve-
hicles are not displaying the re-quired identification stickers.
“Look at Toronto, they don’t put the stickers on -- which is the most important thing they can do to en-force (the bylaw). Here is no dif-ferent, they’re not getting a tick-et,” agreed Aaroport Taxi owner Sami Khairallah.
“On one side we’re enforcing • see page 12
Mississauga taxi interests still fuming over city’s decision to issue 38 more plates in tandem with controversial Uber pilot project
4 October 2017
AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF $100 FOR BEING OUR OUTSTANDING DRIVER OF THE MONTH
becktaxi.com
DRIVER OF THE MONTH
PETER CHUKS MAKABeck Taxi would like to congratulatePeter as September’s Driver of the Month.
A customer called in to commend Peter for the excellent customer service he provided. He said that Peter absolutely went above and beyond, and that he is an amazing person! The customer feels that Peter deserves not just 1 gold star, but 2! He said that Peter helped him carry his items, and that he is super friendly. Peter did such a good job that he made the customer’s whole day wonderful!
The customer also said that Peter did a very good job with providing door to door service. He assisted him from the moment he arrived, by opening the doors and helping him with his bags. The customer stated that Peter got out of his taxi at the drop off to help him with his bags and to the door again. He said that Peter is a great guy, and went above and beyond!
Thank you for going above and beyond the call of duty to help make Beck Taxi the #1 brokerage in Toronto! Keep up the great work Peter, it is appreciated!
Honourable Mentions
Boakye-Yiadom, SamuelNadeem Ahmad ZafarMohammed Abdurahman AhmedWoldemichael, Seghen AbrahamMahmood, KashifHaile, Daniel DebessaiHanif, RehmanLutes UrahmanAvi YohananovDaljit SinghZewedu, Tesfaye SetegnJavaid, Muhammad AsifSaid TalalBaffour AbabioIdris Mohamed AlyFesehaye, AlemsegedImran, FaisalShafi q, NooriRajput, AsifAbdi, Mohamed AliAlam Junaid RanaImran, FaisalUlhaq, Mohammad ZafarShah TajamalMohmmad GhalibKandiah, RanaganathanRahmilov, JonaHassan, AbbasMaka, Peter ChuksBadar Ul MunirTariq MahmoodAssad KhanzakrShah, Syed JamshedTaylor DerrickBrat Ali Abdul KarimHussein, Ahmed AbdullahiShahzad Goraya
Gurvinder KhuranaMughal, Tahir MehmoodSingh ManmeetTewodros ZegeyeImran, FaisalHossain, Sheikh ShahadatG-Hawrait,SamualDusko MiraoviZahid IqbalKyung KwakWaqar JafriTipu SaheedLakdawala AbbasiIbrahim MuhabawHussain, SarfrazMirza NahidFrancis Howard KellyDalbir SandhuAzam MuhammadOsman AbdellaTareen, Muhammad AamirAbdullahi, Abdi AhmedButt, Kausar Al HabibAziz ,RukhsarChowdhury, Mohammad NurulAbdulla, Mansour AhmedKaran SalhotraMirza NahidMuzammal RiazGebremariam Bisrat GeberstaGill, Daljit SinghAron Ghebretsadik AkalAlavi Mehr, FarhadShahid AnwarLutes UrahmanAaser CheemaMinaei Roudsari AhmadAmme Moume Maya
Chaudry, TariqMirza, Farhat NazNazir, Khawaja KashifEntezami EsfandiarAbdulkadir AhmedSalem, HeshamIslam, Mohammad HanifulMahboobi Said AbdullahDeb KazalAshene, Meron KassahunMohhamed MaqsoodTwewlde, Tesfamichael GWilliam LarteyRaja Asif YaqoobAzad, RashidRashid Muhammad AslamShoukat MuhammadNader KahrazehiSahli, Hafi dSolomon, BrukBaddegama, Indika SureshSikder Rakibur RahmanWadia, Abdul Hafi z AiyubAbdul, AleemQamar ChaudhryKamal NajmuddinYehun EdemalemAaser CheemaKassa SisayAhmed ImtiazMesgan YohannesAhmed ImtiazRanjith SatharasinghKhan, Asif RazaAli, GhazanfarMahboobi Said AbdullahShash Abdurahman, SeidChugh, Sanjeev
AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF $100 FOR BEING OUR OUTSTANDING DRIVER OF THE MONTH
by Mike Beggs“Bye-bye, see you later.”
That comment from Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre certainly made for a colourful sound bite, in response to Uber’s threat to pull its popular services from La Belle Province.
But only time will tell whether the Province of Quebec and the Mayor will stand by the heavy conditions they’ve laid down on Uber, in order to have its pilot project renewed later this month.
Uber’s threat was prompted by demands that its drivers undergo a full 35 hours of training, and po-lice background checks (the same as licensed taxi drivers).
On September 26, Uber-Quebec GM Jean-Nicolas Guillemette an-nounced his company will leave the province, unless the govern-ment eases up on these safety rules. He claimed the government is attempting, “to force a rigid and outdated model” on to Uber’s flex-ible, cutting-edge model, and that the conditions placed on his com-pany in Quebec were already “se-vere” compared to other Canadian cities.
He indicated his company would be willing to accept mandated po-lice background checks, but that the 35 hours of training was non-negotiable. He said the vast major-ity of Uber’s driver/partners are part-timers and this 35-hour train-ing threshold would, “destroy the company’s business model.”
“This is the beauty of the Uber platform,” he said at a press con-ference, “it has flexibility, that the driver-partners come and go and decide when they want to drive.”
In a TV interview with BNN, Coderre said he wasn’t going to lose sleep over Uber’s threat.
“Frankly, we need to have some regulations, and if they’re threat-ening to leave, I don’t care,” he stated.
He alleged, “The problem with Uber is the way they have been conducting themselves. They’re very condescending in thinking they own everything. So I’m sorry, it’s not my cup of tea.”
Coderre isn’t the first mayor to lash out against Uber. But, virtual-ly every one heretofore has wound up backing down in the face of the tech giant’s powerful lobbying ef-forts.
In the fall of 2015, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi warned Uber it could either play by the rules, or hit the bricks. But only a few months later, he recommend-
ed a pilot project be set up for the company.
And only two weeks ago, Lon-don Mayor Sadiq Khan stood staunchly behind a Transport for London decision not to renew Uber’s license, because it was “not fit and proper” to operate. But after an apology from Uber, and a pro-Uber petition signed by 7,500 of his constituents, he directed TfL representatives to reinitiate talks with the ridesharing giant.
Some 10,000 Quebecers drive for Uber, equating to approximate-ly 3,000 full-time jobs.
After hearing Coderre’s com-ments, Toronto’s iTaxiworkers Association called on its own Mayor, and councillors to recon-sider their position and follow Quebec’s lead. iTaxi applauded the efforts of Transportation Minister Laurent Lessard to enhance public safety across the taxi industry in Quebec.
“Currently in the City of Toron-to, elected officials do not have the same level of regard for the pro-tection of Torontonians who uti-lize the PTC Uber,” says president Sajid Mughal. “From its inception in the Toronto market, Mayor John Tory’s lack of regard for law and order and public safety has paved the way for Uber to diminish the historical standards designed to protect users of taxi services. This is particularly disturbing when we live in an age where municipal governance should enhance pro-tection of the public, not detract from it.”
Mughal emphasizes that in July 2016, Toronto City Council elimi-nated the training of all taxi driv-ers as a concession to Uber, while allowing the company to provide ridesharing services without vital public safety measures, such as cameras.
“It is time for these elected of-ficials to initiative regulatory mea-sures such as to restore the pub-lic’s confidence in governance at Toronto City Hall, as it is undemo-cratic to have two sets of laws and regulations over one system of public transportation,” he adds.
Mississauga plate owner Peter Pellier will wait and see how this all washes out, with any number of cities ultimately having wilted to Uber’s demands, when push came to shove.
But, he notes the Quebec pro-vincial government is far more involved in the regulation of taxi-cabs than in Ontario, where each municipality assumes that respon-
sibility.“Given both Toronto and Mis-
sissauga have scrapped training programs for new drivers, as well as mandatory vehicle inspections, given Queen’s Park has remained silent since Uber entered the mar-ket, I cannot see a similar initiative unfolding in Quebec,” he says. “Will Uber really pull out of Que-bec? Or is this yet another ploy by Uber aimed at getting their clients to lobby the government to back off?”
“If Uber does withdraw its services on a permanent basis, without putting up a legal battle – something I doubt very much – this opens the door for those of us operating in the GTHA,” he adds. “Then again, will Mayors Tory or Crombie change their tune regard-ing Uber, regardless of what hap-pens in Quebec? It seems hard to believe.”
Veteran owner/operator Law-rence Eisenberg doubts the Que-bec powers-that-be will follow through with their hard line, with the Uber pilot ending on October 14.
“I’ll bet Uber doesn’t back down, and the government does,” he says. “If they follow Toronto’s example, it makes a lot of sense.”
He seconds Coderre’s allega-tions about Uber being conde-scending.
“Absolutely, but our mayor doesn’t think so, does he?” he continues. “I don’t think the City cares. All they’re interested in is collecting (their 30 cents per run from Uber).”
“Why don’t they care about public safety, or about protecting the taxi industry in general? It’s part of their mandate to protect and make sure we have a viable in-dustry. How can we have a viable industry when we can’t make any money?”
What’s more, Eisenberg sug-gests the tough talk from both sides – in Montreal, and London – may equate to bluffing in a high stakes poker game.
“Talk makes money. Isn’t that true?” he adds. “Is there bargain-ing on both sides? 100 percent!”
For his part, owner/operator Gerry Manley maintains that in both cities, if Uber’s license gets revoked it will just keep running its cars regardless, because it’s “impossible” to shut them down or enforce against them.
Montreal Mayor laughs off Uber’s threat to pull out of Quebec
5 October 2017
Serving the Greater Toronto AreaFOR
AiRpORt peAk peRiOd peRmits
Call Kuldip Khabra at 416-241-4700
dAy & Night shiFts at Competitive Rates
Call Andy at 416-803-8130
+ 10¢ per credit transaction
CREDIT
40 Wynford Dr Suite 300BToronto, M3C 1J5
Call us now:
www.paxi.caTrademark of Visa International Service Association and used under license. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated. Used under license.Interac is a registered trademark of Interac Inc. Used under license. Used by Amex Canada Inc. under license from American Express.
DEBIT
per debit transaction
Ask about ourexclusive offer
for iTaxi members!
In partnership with
by Mike Beggs
The world was watching at press time, as the City of London, England, grap-
pled with whether or not to re-new Uber’s licence to operate.
In the third week of September, London took possibly the most principled stand to date amongst any of the world’s big cities, with Transport for London (TfL) strip-ping Uber of its licence saying it is not a, “fit and proper operator.” Uber’s current licence expired on September 30, but the company immediately announced plans for an appeal, and is allowed to oper-ate until that is dealt with.
An Uber spokesperson stressed that, “3.5 million Londoners use Uber to get reliable rides in the capital. More than 40,000 drivers rely on our app to a make a living with average fares from last year of 15 pound an hour, after our ser-vice fee.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan threw his full weight behind the TfL decision -- initially -- stating that, while he wants London to be at the forefront of innovation and new technology, “all companies must play by the rules, and adhere to the high standards we expect, particularly when it comes to the safety of customers.”
But – in what has now become a familiar pattern in the Uber growth arc – later the same day, the Mayor suggested TfL officials should meet with Uber, on the heels of an apology from the company’s new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, and a petition to save Uber signed by a
whopping 500,000 Londoners. In an open letter to Londoners,
Khosrowshahi said Uber would appeal the TfL decision, but ac-knowledged that the company, “must change”.
“While Uber has revolution-ized the way people move in cities around the world, it’s equally true that we’ve got things wrong along the way,” he wrote.
“We won’t be perfect, but we will listen to you; we will look to be long-term partners with the cit-ies we serve; and we will run our business with humility, integrity,
and passion.”At Taxi News press time, it re-
mained to be seen whether London would stand firm on the Uber ban, or cave to the pressure of the com-pany’s massive lobbying efforts (as has been the case in countless cities).
The TfL’s shocking edict comes after a year for hell for Uber -- with the departure of found-ing CEO Travis Kalanick amid a myriad of scandals, allegations of bullying and sexism at head office, several serious outstanding legal actions, and a steady loss of mar-
ket share to the rival Lyft (which, to make matters worse, has made preliminary overtures to move into the London market!).
Upon hearing of this potentially, game-changing news, Mississauga plate owner Mark Sexsmith re-quested that his city’s Licensing Staff monitor the outcome of the events in London.
“The central question would seem to be whether the criteria of evaluation used in London has any validity for your ongoing evalua-tion of Uber’s services in Missis-sauga, and whether the high bar set by London should be matched
by our licensing department, and whether there should be a recon-sideration of the continuance of the (ongoing 18-month) Pilot Proj-ect,” he wrote to the City.
Sexsmith also suggested the City of Toronto should investigate the circumstances of the revoca-tion, and report back to its Coun-cil on whether a re-evaluation of Uber’s licence to operate should be considered.
However, several sources agreed that, if banned from London, Uber will just keep right on operating regardless, as has been its m.o. in many markets.
Fellow Mississauga plate-holder Peter Pellier emphasized that the jury is still out in London.
“With pressure from the highest levels of government, not to men-tion the general public, aimed at keeping Uber in business, it will be interesting to see how this un-folds,” he observes. “Quite frank-ly, it’s premature for London’s real cabbies to be dancing in the streets.”
When asked whether his Town should reconsider its licensing of Uber X, in light of the company’s questionable corporate culture, and transgressions the world over, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton re-sponded that Transportation Net-work Companies (TNC’s) have become the way of the future, full stop.
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen with Uber (in light of its problems). But as a category,
City of London threatens to pull Uber’s licence, declares it is not a ‘fit or proper operator’
6 October 2017 Editorial John Q. Duffy – Chedmount Investments Ltd.
38 Fairmount Cres. Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4L 2H4 Tel: (416) 466-2328 Fax: (416) 466-4220
Editorial
Letters to The EditorOctober 2017
PublisherJohn Q. Duffy
EditorBill McOuat
Art DirectionBerkeley Stat House
Contributing WritersMike Beggs
IllustratorSandy McClelland
ADVERTISINGCall: John Duffy
Tel: 416-466-2328Booking Deadline for ads
Oct. 23, 2017If you have any
questions on distribution or subscriptions contact us at:
Tel: (416) 466-2328 Fax: (416) 466-4220Canada - 1 Year: $24
2 Years: $37 - 3 Years: $53USA/International
- 1 Year: $40 Please add 13% HST to subscription prices
Second Class Mail Registration #40050017. No reprint of editorial or advertising material in this publication is allowed without the express written con-sent of the publisher. The publisher does not assume any responsiblility for the contents of any advertisement and all representations or warranties made in such advertis-ing are those of the advertiser not the publisher.
Do City’s leaders really care about TTLs? Or Taxis?To the editor,
Follow the money. With an estimated $6.7 million flowing into the City’s coffers annually from Uber - a number that no doubt will climb over time, the bean counters at City Hall
are surely salivating, particularly seeing as the cost to regulate Uber is virtually nil. In light of such a healthy revenue stream, the taxi industry is rapidly becoming irrelevant as far as Monsieur Tory & Company are concerned.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for City monies derived from Uber to be directed towards the TTL program - not as long as there are those will-ing to assume the costs of operating an accessible cab.
Peter D. Pellier
Annual Eid Prayer at Dentonia Park welcomes thousandsTo the editor,
On Friday, September 1st, 2017, we held an Eid Prayer at Dentonia Park. It was organized by Danforth Islamic Cen-tre. Thousands and thousands of people showed up. It start-
ed at 9:30 a.m. and in the opening Mohammed Mirza, Chief Coordi-nator/Event Commander of Eid Prayer, introduced the event to the public by giving a short speech, followed by Helal Chowdary and Moderated by Washim Ahmed.
After this awards were presented to the event’s honoured guests. All awarded guests gave a short speech. Mr. Nathanial Smith read a message from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to thank the organizers (Danforth Islamic Centre) of this amazing event and to wish all in attendance a peaceful Eid al-Adha.
Recipients of special awards of appreciation are listed below. The awards recognize their distinguished service and support to the Danforth Islamic Center and the Muslim Communities Of Toronto, Ontario, and Canada.
John Tory, Mayor of Toronto; Bill Blair, Member of Parliament (Scar-borough Southwest); Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Member of Parliament (Beaches-East York); Arthur Potts, Member of Provincial Parliament (Beaches-East York); Janet Davis, City Councillor, Ward 31 Beaches- East York.
Mohammed Mirza
When Uber’s largest European marketplace, London, Eng-land, announces the app-based taxi dispatch company is not having its license renewed, it has to be a wake-up call
for every other jurisdiction in the world.Of course there will be appeals from Uber’s battalion of lawyers,
but, frankly, we see those appeals as irrelevant.As well, Uber drivers now have the right to receive overtime and
holiday pay (this ruling is under appeal), with the judges saying it was “faintly ridiculous” for Uber to argue it was simply an app platform and not a taxi service.
To add insult to injury, the Province of Quebec has imposed train-ing requirements on Uber drivers. Uber has responded by threaten-ing to pull out of the Quebec market if those rules are enforced, a blatantly obvious and utterly unacceptable attempt to blackmail that government into relenting— to which most people in the taxi busi-ness are no doubt inclined to respond, good riddance to Uber.
Uber has been forced to cease operations or has been banned out-right in whole countries like Denmark, Bulgaria, and Hungary (and possibly Italy) and other smaller jurisdictions like Australia’s North-ern Territories, Alaska, Oregon (except for Portland) and Vancouver due to its intransigence and apparent inability to work within the rule of law.
A growing number of jurisdictions are, belatedly, waking up to just how gawd-awful Uber’s business model is, and how it undermines not only tra-ditional law-abiding taxi businesses but also, more importantly, the broader public interest. That is, except in Toronto, where our politicians and bureau-crats are doing their best to ignore what minimal rules govern Uber opera-tions while continuing to harass licensed taxis for minor offenses. For a minor example, when was the last time anyone saw a mandatory Uber sticker on an Uber-affiliated vehicle?
The simple fact is Uber is belatedly learning that responsible cor-porate behavior is not only desirable, but also imperative, in today’s world. Treating laws and simple ethics as merely guidelines to be followed at will is not acceptable.
Yes, Uber has a new president who seems more willing to deal with legitimate concerns about how the company operates, both internally and externally. But those efforts may well be too little, too late. Even Uber investors, who have sunken billions into the outfit, apparently are getting a bit queasy about the rate at which the company is los-ing money, it’s ongoing legal problems and the continuing series of extremely black eyes it is getting from a once-sycophantic media.
Toronto’s powers that be still apparently think Uber is just wonder-ful, contrary to just about every metric conceivable. We have no clue about Toronto’s rationale behind its continued support for Uber. We can only guess that London’s government is smarter than Toronto’s, and cares more about little things like rider safety and the rule of law.
Meanwhile we are still waiting for a Municipal Licensing and Stan-dards report assessing the effects of the most recent changes to the City’s licensing bylaws. It was supposed to be brought forward in September. We have not heard a word about when it will eventually be presented. Just as troubling, we have not heard from the politicians who ordered the report in the first place. We’ve got to start asking why the deafening silence?
It is also time for the City to come clean on how much Uber is contributing to MLS coffers, keeping in mind it is illegal under the Municipal Act for money collected from any license category to be spent on anything but that license category.
The simple fact is that the traditional taxi businesses of this city have been devastated by unfair, City-sanctioned competition that ap-parently cares not a whit about the damage it causes to anyone. Taxi-cab drivers, already among the poorest of the working poor in this city, are being pushed to the wall by City naïveté and/or deliberate complicity in this ongoing tragedy.
The shame and blame belong solely to the politicians and bureau-crats who created this mess. It is up to them to solve, sooner rather than later, the problems they created.
When will City of Toronto wake up?
Last moth I wrote about a guy who complained about an unfortunate encounter he had with a Li-censing Enforcement Officer at the Toronto Bus
Station. The cab driver alleged the officer purposely damaged a trouble light on his taxi and then ticketed him for having a broken light.
What gave his complaint some credibility, at least to me, was the fact he had a video of the incident, taken from the front seat of his cab. I suggested he follow up his complaint with Municipal Licensing and Standards and/or police.
He did follow up with MLS and he tells me he had two meetings with an official, West District Manager Rose Bur-rows, showed her first still photos of the incident and then later the full video.
In a follow up letter dated September 20th, the official states the incident had been “fully investigated. We have found that there was no evidence of damage to the taxi cab during the inspection undertaken by the Municipal Stan-dards officer.”
The MLS authority states MLS Enforcement officers are authorized to conduct these inspections for safety of both the driver and the public.
She then says, “We continually strive for improved inter-actions with our clients and the public. As such we thank you for your feedback regarding your first taxi inspection.”
Here’s a major problem for the cab driver. While the video shows much of the actions of the inspector, it does not show everything and it definitely does not show a “smoking gun” type action such as the inspector purposely damaging the light. It certainly raises suspicions, but not the actual deed.
One fact of note, at least to me, is the MLS inspector was dressed in plain clothes, not in uniform. I did not know these officers operated in plain clothes at all.
Also from the video evidence you cannot tell if the of-ficer properly identified himself or stopped the taxi while it was moving or approached the taxi while it was stopped. (MLEOs, as far as I know, do not have the authority to stop a moving vehicle.)
So, as far as MLS is concerned, the matter is at rest unless new evidence shows up.
This doesn’t mean the matter is over, however.The driver, who has some pretty harsh words to say about
the system, does not appear to be satisfied.He, as they say, is “considering his options.”First, he is thinking about putting in a police report. That
would do at least two things: his complaint would be on
a permanent police record and police could subpoena, or other ways obtain, security footage from whatever cameras are installed in and around the bus station, in the hopes of getting a more complete view of the incident and hopefully corroborate his version of events.
He has already consulted a paralegal, but simply does not have the money to proceed using that option.
The driver is considering also approaching the Provincial or City Ombudsman with his complaint. He has not started this process yet.
At my suggestion he may also approach his City council-lor for whatever help can be provided from that source.
Finally, he can always dispute the ticket in court; bringing whatever evidence he now has or can possibly obtain in the future, to defend himself.
Considering the last sentence in the City’s letter to him about his “first” taxi inspection he now seriously wonders if he hasn’t made a target of himself, vulnerable to harassment by MLEOs and possibly even police.
I get this fear regularly from taxi drivers who have had run-ins with MLEOS. The fear is rampant. I can’t comment these days on how justified it is. A couple of years ago I would have said definitely the fear was justified. Now, I’m not so sure.
I’ll leave to your imagi-nation his comments about the integrity of the system. Let’s just say he has little faith in being believed or getting redress, including
cancelation of the disputed ticket.I’ve asked him to continue to keep me in the loop, includ-
ing letting me know when his court date is so I can be there to report on events.
So far, what the cab driver in this case has been able to present rises above a simple unverified allegation, but while it raises suspicions, I’m afraid in my non-legal opinion it falls short of solid proof. It might be enough to create “rea-sonable doubt.” That will be up to a Judge (or Justice of the Peace).
Naturally I am very interested in any similar incidents you may experience.
But to get anywhere I suggest you document these en-counters in every way you can, including video and audio recordings, and finding witnesses, if any, who can testify on your behalf.
I said last month and mean it: in my experience the vast majority of city employees do the very best they can under sometimes (ahem) trying circumstances. For decades I’ve also said that taxi drivers do the same. The best we can all hope for is to have tough, fair, honest cops. Cab drivers are not always in the right. Nor are they always wrong. What everyone needs is solid evidence admissible in a courtroom.
So I am extremely grateful to this cab driver for doing what he has done to date. I hope you learn from it too. You can fight city hall, but it’s frequently a long and sometimes very frustrating process.
He says he will keep me in the loop and I sincerely hope he will do just that.
Last word: kids are back in school and are frequently un-predictable when walking on sidewalks. Please take extra care driving.
To the editor,(Editor’s note: This letter first appeared as a blog posting by Hamilton taxi owner and writer Hans Wienhold.)
A Hamilton cabbie friend of mine told me that she had recently received a follow-up call from her council rep, Maria Pearson, Ward 10, over a recent licensing
issue.After some small talk, the councillor asked my friend, I’ll
call her Molly, how things were going in the Hamilton taxi business now that Uber had been formally exempted from Hamilton’s “old category” of taxi licensing bylaws.
Molly told her that things were really bad. Then Molly suggested that if Maria wanted more information on the Uber impact, that she should talk to “Hans.”
Maria replied, “Hans Wienhold?”Molly: “Yes.”Maria: “Oh. I just delete his emails.”When I heard this I laughed. First, Maria feigns interest in
the plight of Hamilton’s cabbies (probably just fishing for a vote) and then, when offered a source of information on the
Uber impact, Maria unconsciously intimates that she is not remotely interested in the subject.
“Oh. I just delete his emails.”As I have said on many occasions before, most politicians
are phony people who pretend to care about their constitu-ents, but demonstrate by their actions that they care much more about their own careers. Once you know what to look for it becomes very easy to see.
Step one: Do they put on a big show about how much they care about the poor, downtrodden, and marginalized members of our community? (Like Hamilton’s cab driv-ers?)
Step two: Ask yourself if their proposed solutions to any given problem involve digging into their own wallets or purses, or someone else’s?
Need I go into any more detail?I call this Hans Wienhold’s free, two-step course on Ev-
erything you Ever Need to Know about Politics and Politi-cians.
Molly was absolutely mortified when I told her just how juicy the information she just gave me was, and that I in-
tended to use it in a future blockrant.“I don’t want to get into any trouble,” she said.I could write an essay on that response alone. Where did
a person develop the impression that telling the truth about something could get them into trouble?
Of course, this reaction disturbed me. I told Molly that she should not have to fear retribution from a politician, and that the politician, theoretically, is her servant, NOT her master.
“When the people fear the government, that’s tyranny; when the government fears the people, that’s freedom.” -- Thomas Jefferson
Poor Molly. No citizen should have to live in such fear of politicians.
7 October 2017Comment
REAR VIEW
StandCabby Hans Wienhold
Hamilton councillor reveals true colours: complete lack of interest in plight of taxi drivers
MLS’s response to taxi driver’s complaint offers little comfort
8 October 2017
by Mike Beggs
On June 9, 2016, Toronto Council approved its ambitious 10-Year Cy-
cling Network Plan, designed, “to connect, grow and renew infrastructure for Toronto cy-cling routes,” -- and as Mayor John Tory put it, “to help To-ronto residents who cycle save money, improve their health and well-being, and reduce conges-tion in our city.”
And according to a recent count conducted by the advocacy group Bells on Bloor, the response has
been ‘phenomenal’. As reported by Metro, the group’s week-long tracking found an average of 6,000 riders per day are using the new separated Bloor street bike path (which runs from Shaw St. to Avenue Rd.), a year-long pilot project up for renewal by the City in mid-October.
While apparently popular with cyclists, however, on our streets, the cycling initiative has created some level of confusion -- and added tension -- between bikes and cars, including taxis.
“Well, it’s more and more pres-sure on the cab industry, especial-ly when there is no training and there’s no education for the pub-lic,” says Sajid Mughal, president of the iTaxiworkers Association.
“It’s not that we don’t like the bike lanes. There’s no proper edu-cation. None.”
While initially cabs were among those vehicles allowed to do drop-offs or pickups in bike lanes, ac-cording to Mughal, under Tory’s most recent crackdown on grid-lock, that exemption has been waived, and they are now subject to a $150 fine, and points -- cre-ating just one more headache for Toronto’s downtrodden taxi driv-ers. (The City of Toronto did not respond to Taxi News’s interview request by press time).
“The cab driver is getting has-sled for everything,” he adds.
“I’m on Sherbourne Street, if I stop in the bike lane it’s a $150 ticket. But if I stop in the (regular traffic lane), everybody is honking and screaming. You have to drop the customer where they want -- not around the corner on a side street. What can I do?
“And now everyone wants to pay by credit card. Obviously, it takes some time, and you can’t do anything (about that),” he contin-ues. “So the Police come and give you a ticket. The cop can see the customer is still in the car.”
On the Union Station stand, owner/operator Mohammed Ahmed says matter-of-factly, “It’s not working.”
“The problem is driving with customers,” he says. “We can drive side by side (ordinarily), but what about when we load and un-load the customers. Every time we get a dirty look. They bang the car.
“We don’t oppose the bikes, but this city it’s not a bike city. We are not in The Netherlands. We are in Toronto. Don’t copy, just do your own thing.”
And, he finds the downtown
traffic is “three or four times worse than 10 years ago”, only exacerbated by the addition of ap-proximately 40,000 licensed Uber X cars.
When asked how this new pro-gram is working, a seven-year man named Danny responds, “Terrible. They think they own the road. They hate the cars.
“If you’re close to the sidewalk, the cyclists get upset. Sometimes you can’t see them, and all of a sudden they come up to you.”
However, cyclists say it works both ways, with some motorists still not aware or respectful of their space, and rights.
“It’s very busy, and you’ve got to be careful,” says a regular bike lane user named Katie, on Bay Street.
“I’ve had a lot of friends who have been hit by car doors being opened (by drivers without look-ing), you fly over your handlebars. I’ve had a couple of very close calls.”
While cycling is her chosen mode of transportation, she finds the new separated lanes aren’t all that helpful when it’s busy.
“It’s very slow, because of all of a sudden the bike lane will stop. And you have to avoid parked cars,” she explains.
In turn, she finds cabbies and Uber drivers often cut corners.
“They’re just very annoying. They bend the rules a lot,” she adds.
Likewise for Bill, a bike courier for the past 26 years, the new lanes haven’t proven to be much of a boon.
“It has not helped my job. There are more people ending up in bike lanes -- before it was only cars (to deal with). There are not that many good rookie cyclists, they don’t know how to ride,” he says.
“At certain times of day (the bike lanes) are an improvement, but during rush hour they fill up and they’re no good to me. I just ride with (the regular) traffic.”
But he says cycling is “absolute-ly” the way go in getting around downtown. And he finds drivers are finally becoming cognizant of cyclists.
“People are actually starting to learn to use their mirrors when they open their car doors. But it took many years,” he relates.
According to the Ontario High-way Traffic Act, riding a bike does not require a license, or special permit. However, cyclists are re-quired to follow traffic rules, obey
signs, and use hand signals, and can be stopped and fined by Police officers – while not receiving de-merit points on their license.
Drivers are required to: yield for cyclists when making a right hand turn; to signal, check their mirrors and blind spots so they don’t cut off a bike; and to give 1 metre of space when passing a cyclist. They are subject to fines -- and demerit points!
Toronto’s designated bike lanes (as found on Bloor, Richmond Streets, etc.) have white poles separating the bike lane from the roadway. There are also painted bike lanes (in green), and check-ered bike lanes, with less stringent rules. The City has posted infor-mation online about “Understand-ing Bicycle Lanes” at Toronto.ca/cycling.
Toronto’s Cyclists Handbook warns that, “Even though they have the right of way, cyclists should be aware that motorists making a right hand turn may not actually see them. And driv-ers must realize cyclists don’t just come out of nowhere.”
Along with the lack of clearly defined rules, comes complaints of slack enforcement efforts. Cy-clists say delivery vans and the
like continue to get away with il-legal stops, while drivers counter that cyclists often run through red lights and stop signs if there is no traffic.
Bikes were involved in about 1,200 accidents in Toronto in 2016.
In a November of 2015 inter-view, Councillor Glenn De Baer-emaeker (who commutes in from Scarborough daily on his bike) told CBC, “one percent of drivers are lazy and inconsiderate, and put people’s lives at risk” by stopping in bike lanes.
“These drivers don’t realize that, • see page 12
iTax ServicesPROFESSIONAL TAX
PREPARATION SERVICES
TYPE OF TAX RETURNS
Personal
Small Business
Sole Proprietorship
Corporation
Trust
Estate
US Tax Preparation
We have offices conveniently
located in
AJAX, CONCORD
MISSISSAUGA PICKERING
RICHMOND HILL & TORONTO
Helping you to MAXIMIZE your
REFUND & MINIMIZE your TAXES owing.
RCall us for a
CONSULTATION
416-366-6806 or email us at
itaxservices77 @gmail.com
City’s expanding bike network creates added challenges for harried taxi operators
The Bloor bike lane pilot project currently being debated at City Hall.
It’s not that we don’t like the bike lanes. There’s no proper education. None.
9 October 2017
MICHELLE TORREALBAFleet Manager
cell: 647-462-4992phone: 905-625-3420 ext. 225
email: [email protected]
2215 DUNDAS STREET EAST, MISSISSAUGAOn Dundas, just west of the 427 on the north side
PLEASE ASK FOR
Jessie or Avtar: 416-748-9300R&S Auto Service Ltd. 420 Ormont Drive
Pal or Varinder: 416-741-0303City Auto and Tires 62 Penn Drive
Pargat: 416-616-0537Sunny Auto 29 Algie Ave.
Baljit: 416-236-3646Best Tech Auto 371 Bering Ave.
Bajwa: 416-836-3536Bajwa Taxi 41 Eddystone Ave. North York
Day & Night ShiftsCompetitive Rates H Newer Cars
TAXIS AVAILABLE
Situation so desperate cab driver considers suicide• from page 2operator Hans Wienhold reports of one driver made so desperate by his City’s licensing of Uber (in unlimited numbers) that he is considering suicide. That was a path tragically followed by some 50 Dublin taxi drivers after their City’s deregulation in the early 2000s.
“Given the impact similar po-litical malfeasance has had on Ontario taxi drivers in Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, London, Hamilton, Ottawa, and more, I am surprised I haven’t heard of a sin-gle cab driver suicide in Ontario, to date,” he says.
“But if something like that hap-pens in Ontario, don’t blame Uber. Blame those who facilitated it – the invertebrates that gravitate to political office.”
As a 35-year veteran, Sikand observes, “The politicians, they listen to the public. And the pub-lic doesn’t seem to complain about (Uber).”
But he stops short of saying councillors pay only lip service to taxi interests.
“I agree, and disagree,” he com-ments. “There is one group which goes to see the councillors saying this, and then later another group going to the councillors saying that. The Councillors see the in-dustry is divided, but at least on the Uber issue, everybody (in the taxi industry) is on the same page.”
At this stage, several prominent industry leaders claim the indus-try’s lone chance for survival lies in the courts.
“(But) the industry doesn’t have the money,” he responds.
(Long-time owner/operator Gerry Manley has suggested a $15 per month contribution from all
10,000 Toronto taxi drivers would go a long way towards legal costs, and that the industry has ample grounds for seeking justice and compensation).
“I take a different approach,” Si-kand continues. “If we can get $15 from each driver, why don’t we as a taxi industry get together and have one group -- so, we can lower the price, even less than Uber dur-ing the slow times. What will Uber do? They would run away.
“If we are so united, we don’t have to go to court. (We need) one app for the entire industry, and one set of rules for everybody.”
Sikand says the taxi industry needs to change with the times. To that end, he applied for a VFH li-cense himself, and has recently put out a fleet of 80 or 90 luxury cars, running through his new “RideIn” app.
Meanwhile, taxi industry lead-ers continue to seek written proof that these 40,000 Uber drivers are properly registered and insured, as reported by the MLS last fall. Under the VFH bylaw, the MLS has turned these responsibilities over to Uber, in what amounts to virtual self-regulation. And by many accounts, it’s highly debat-able whether or not Uber X driv-ers have declared to their private insurers, as required, that they are using their vehicles for commer-cial work.
Even Louis Seta, now an Uber driver himself, says he’s “not confident the drivers are squeaky clean.”
“They’re not giving away infor-mation. In a way, you have to take it on trust,” he comments. “The MLS doesn’t care, and they’re not interested in investigating it.”
Seta suggests the whole for-
hire industry seems to be evolving towards more of a “laissez faire” system.
“Tracey Cook, she can write as many reports as she wants,” he quips. “But the bottom line is, what do the City councillors want? I don’t think the councillors care to have this whole thing become a big battle -- and I don’t see any of the public complaining (about Uber) to any extent.”
“I think this is going back to the way it was 20 or 30 years ago. I don’t think the City as a whole is looking at revamping the industry. I think that everyone is getting away with as much as they can.”
He says “a lot of guys out there are operating illegally or under the table”, and seemingly beyond the reach of Licensing staff.
“Look at what’s happening in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton. It’s difficult to analyze, and it’s just the culture of it. They’re just doing whatever they feel like, be-cause they’re not feeling any pres-sure from the authorities, or even from the brokers,” he adds.
In Toronto, Stern lays fault at the door of Mayor, “because he made that statement (that, “Uber is here to stay”), and the Judge re-peated it.”
“He has taken a full-time job and (turned it) into a part-time job. And some of them are not going to pay taxes,” he alleges.
“If you can’t police this, you can’t police anything. And you can’t let it be a Wild West out there.”
Oakville Mayor Rob Burton puts the present situation down to the power of the internet to disrupt the economy, citing “blockbuster changes in several industries”.
“As bad as it is for taxi drivers, it’s bad for retailers -- from Moms and Pops, to giant retailers. It’s a global economy, and the ripple ef-
fect is very powerful,” he adds.“In Oakville, we only have two
taxi companies. I don’t know what they’re going to do. All we can do is try to remove the regulatory bar-riers, and hope they can compete on a level playing field.”
And on the prospects of finan-cial compensation for plate own-ers, Burton answers, “No govern-ment I know of in Oakville told you a $2,000 medallion was your pension.”
Accept Credit Card & Debit Card
We’ll Pay you CA$$$$$H!*
No Contracts… No Hidden fee…ALL DRIVERS ARE WELCOME!
Including Lessees, Shift Drivers or Limo DriversAll you need is your Taxi License and Provincial License!
*Conditions May Apply
For More Details, come to our office at 234 Parliament St.or call us!Office: 647-347-8000Direct: 416-878-6834Fax: 647-347-0101
Specialty Service Inc.
10 October 2017
VISIT TAXINEWS.COM FOR THE SOLUTIONS!
7 4 9
8 6
3 2
9 7
3 19 7 8
5 2 9 4
4 1
3 8
4 6 7
8 4 9
5 1 2 6
6 4 9
2 9 3 7
5 3
5 7 2 1
8
SUDOKU
For $20 including HST / month you can advertise a plate for lease or plate to lease. Advertising Call: John Duffy Tel: (416) 466-2328
Is Uber’s threat to pull out of Quebec another ploy?To the editor,
I t will be interesting to see how Uber’s battle with the Province of Quebec pans out. Bear in mind, the Quebec government is far more involved in the regulation of cabs than here in Ontario, where each municipality assumes that
responsibility. Given both Toronto and Mississauga have scrapped training pro-grams for new drivers, as well as mandatory vehicle inspections; given Queen’s Park has remained silent since Uber entered the market, I cannot see a similar initiative unfolding here.
Will Uber really pull out of Quebec, or is this yet another ploy by Uber aimed at getting their clients to lobby the government to back off?
If Uber does withdraw its services in La Belle Province on a permanent basis, with-out putting up a legal battle - something I doubt very much - this opens the door for those of us operating in the GTHA. Then again, will Mayors John Tory or Bonnie Crombie change their tune regarding Uber, regardless of what happens in Quebec? It seems hard to believe.
Peter D. Pellier
To the editor,(Editor’s note: The following is a press release issued by the iTaxi-workers Association on Septem-ber 26, 2017.)
In response to the Govern-ment of Quebec’s new terms and conditions governing the
Private Transportation Com-pany (PTC) Uber’s pilot project extension, iTaxiworkers Asso-ciation applauds the efforts of Transportation Minister Laurent Lessard to enhance public safety
across the taxi industry in that Province.
“Currently, in the City of To-ronto, elected officials do not have the same level of regard for the protection of Torontonians who utilize the PTC Uber,” says Sajid Mughal, President of iTaxiworkers Association. “From its inception in the Toronto market, Mayor John Tory’s lack of regard for law and order, and public safety, has paved the way for Uber to diminish the historical standards designed to
protect users of taxi services. This is particularly disturbing when we live in an age where municipal governance should enhance pro-tection of the public, not detract from it.”
Earlier this year in Denmark, when faced with regulatory mea-sures designed to promote public safety such as mandatory fare me-ters and seat occupancy detectors for air bag activation, Uber ceased operations. London England said it would not renew Uber’s operat-
ing license that expires later this month because it is not ‘fit and proper’ to continue to do business, citing failure to report serious of-fences. The Government of Que-bec’s proposed terms, to require 35 hours of training, in addition to background checks performed by Police Services and not third par-ties, has Uber Quebec in an uproar, but would be welcomed in Toron-to’s taxi industry.
“In July 2016, Toronto City Councillors eliminated the train-
ing of all taxi drivers as a con-cession to the PTC Uber, while allowing this corporation to pro-vide ride-sharing services without vital public safety measures such as cameras” states Mughal. “It is time for those elected officials to initiate regulatory measures to restore the public’s confidence in governance at Toronto City Hall, as it is undemocratic to have two sets of laws and regulations over one system of public transporta-tion.”
Toronto could learn from principled stands other jurisdictions are taking against Uber
Letters to The Editor
CLASSIFIEDSDrivers Wanted, Full or Part Time, Beck, Diamond or Royal, also taxi plate for lease. Call John or Peter at 416-365-2121.
Looking for Toronto Taxi plates to lease. We pay top dollar. Guaranteed to pay all traffic tickets, etc. $10 million liability insurance. Call Cory at 416-741-6904.
Drivers wanted for Beck Taxi in Scarborough. Call Naeem at 647-782-2515.
Looking for Toronto Taxi Plate to lease. We pay top dollar. Guaranteed to pay all traffic tickets. Call Sunny at 416-616-0537.
Drivers wanted night or day. Beck, Crown, or Diamond. Call Sam or Hossein @ HPM Taxi. 416-899-7054 or 416-725-1919.
Taxi Plates for lease and/or sale. Call Dan at 416-236-9987 during business hours.
Richmond Hill taxi plate for lease. Call Sam at 416-733-3773.
Mississauga License Plate for lease - 416-782-3401
11 October 2017
For more info about the #1 brokerage contact 751-5555
or www.becktaxi.com
Beck Taxi has won again for the 22nd consecutive time. First place in 2016 readers poll.
TAXIS AVAILABLE AT:
ALWAYS THERE BECAUSE WE’RE EVERYWHERENorth Star Taxi86 Mack Ave. (Warden & Danforth)416-463-1868 / 416-466-4151A-One Links Corp. 800 Danforth Road. Sultan 416-471-9535Abee Taxi 17 Musgrave Ave. 416-826-0775Abshir Motors 1 Towns Road 416-255-4347Ahmad, Sajjad 318 Greenwood Ave. 647-831-3140Alam Auto Service 490 Dupont St. 416-319-7860ANS & Mikes Ont. 9 Dibble St. 416-463-9917Bajwa Taxi 41 Eddystone Ave. 416-741-6904Bereket Taxi Bereket 7 Thora Ave. 416-816-0632Best Tech Auto Baljit 371 Bering Ave. 416-236-3646Bhalli Taxi call Babar 416-824-5323BK Auto Service 1750 Keele St. 416-573-4275City Auto & Tires 62 Penn Dr. Call Paul: 416-741-0303Hamad Auto Repair 410 Eastern Avenue 416-839-4433 YasinHPM Taxi 14 Thora Avenue 416-690-8641Jutt Motors 1000 Weston Road 416-531-4200Kashmir Singh 7 Racine Road (Kipling & Rexdale) 416-744-3920Kennedy Auto Repair 526 Kennedy Rd. 416-265-1010
Leslieville Auto 759 Eastern Ave. 416-833-2701Manville Auto Tarsem or Prem140 Manville Rd. 416-288-9722 New One Stop Auto 7 Thora Ave. 416-694-9095Noor (Quality Cars Wholesale) 416-782-22001526 Keele StreetPeter’s Taxi Limited 75 Crockford Blvd. (Warden & Lawrence) 416-365-2121S.M. Taxi 296 Brock Ave. 416-220-0119S & P Auto 1347 Queen St. E 416-465-3369Saran Taxi (West End) 416-822-5656Serge’s Taxi 5 Canso Road 416-744-2224Sethi’s Taxi 288 Eddystone Ave. 416-744-0867Stars Auto 405 Kennedy Road. 416-261-4111Steve’s Taxi 3312 Danforth Ave. 416-467-0305Sukhi Auto Repairs 318 Greenwood Ave 416-465-7035Sunny Auto 29 Algie Ave. 416-616-0537Tac Garage Line 266 Parliament St. 416-360-6565Telco Auto (Jessie) 7 Elrose Ave. 416 746-4527Universal Auto Body 95 Eddystone Ave. 416-746-2864UNT Auto Services 3180 Danforth Avenue 647-221-4226 1814283 Ontario Inc.Bulbul Ahmed 647-834-7707
#1 brokerage contact 751-5555
London MPs accuse Uber of neglecting public safety
• from page 5all of these companies are onto something, or Ford wouldn’t have invested in Lyft,” he tells Taxi News. “We’re waiting to see what they can do to transform transpor-tation.”
Long-time Toronto owner/oper-ator Gerry Manley was dismissive of the prospects of Uber being shut down in London.
“It is my belief that London will end up putting tougher controls in place on Uber – which, of course, will end up being useless, as there is virtually no way to enforce them,” he says.
“Uber X is so entrenched in our city, and generally in societies all over the world, that they are here to stay and there is really no way to get rid of them.”
Manley notes that Uber is pay-ing municipalities around the world millions of dollars in licens-ing fees in order to gain a strong foothold.
“So when serious issues arise, a little nonsensical p.r. is brought forward (by the City), where they threaten to remove the licence. But they, of course, do not want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs,” he adds.
The Canadian plot thickened with Uber’s September 26 an-nouncement that it is leaving the Province of Quebec, due to the heavier restrictions being placed on it by government, which it claims, “significantly threaten the company’s ability to continue to operate.” (That includes stipula-tions that Uber drivers undergo 35 hours of training, and have crimi-nal background checks done by Police). While this could amount to a victory for the licensed taxi industry, Quebec Taxi Coalition spokesman Guy Chevrette sug-gested Uber could be using its threat to leave town as a, “bar-gaining chip” (as it has apparently done elsewhere).
It was back in July that a cross-party of 10 London MP’s first
called for Transport for London to strip Uber of its licence, by signing a letter written by Labour MP Wes Streeting. They alleged that Uber has not been doing enough to pro-tect the safety and security of the public (“not least by failing to re-port all alleged offences to Police, so that they can be properly inves-tigated”), take issue with the way Uber drivers are treated (maintain-ing that some take home as little as two pounds an hour), is increas-ing road congestion and pollution with its fleet of 40,000 cars, and is avoiding paying its fair share of U.K. taxes by basing itself in The Netherlands.
The company counters that its drivers are licenced by Transport for London and have been through the same enhanced background checks as Black Cab drivers, and that its technology “goes further” to enhance safety with every trip tracked and recorded by GPS.
Bowing to the pressure of tough-er emission standards, on Septem-ber 8 Uber announced that it was planning to make its entire London Uber X fleet hybrid, or electric by 2019, and will not allow any gas or diesel cars on its app at that point.
According to the TfL, the number of TNC’s in London has climbed from 65,000 in 2013-’14, to more than 116,000 today.
The company already having left China, and facing a serious challenge in Singapore and neigh-bouring countries, the possibility of Uber losing its London pres-ence stirred widespread interest and speculation. A Professor at Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Kartik Hosanagan told money.com, “(If the TfL decision stands), it might set a precedent for other cities that are of two minds about Uber.”
Khosrowshahi signed on as Uber’s new CEO in late August, after building Expedia into one of the world’s leading travel and technology platforms.
“We’re really fortunate to gain a leader with Dara’s experience, talent and vision,” Uber’s Board of Directors wrote in a note to em-ployees.
“I couldn’t be happier to pass the torch to such an inspiring leader,” chipped in Kalanick, who retains a seat on the Board.
Said to have “a strong moral compass”, Khosrowshahi has stepped into a hornet’s nest, hav-ing to find a new COO and CFO, brace for the impending law suit with Google over Uber’s autono-mous car research, and a federal investigation into the company’s alleged use of its Greyball soft-ware to thwart regulators.
He will also have to come up with a new set of core principals after the Board tore up parts of the
original list of 14 corporate values. Numerous Uber executives have
been forced out, or left over the past nine months. And on Sep-tember 13, Reuters reported that Uber’s chief legal officer and gen-eral counsel Salle Yoo is planning her exit after five years.
In a note, she said her stay at Uber has been “exhilarating, but incredibly hard work.”
However, Bloomberg notes her departure follows that of global head of compliance Joseph Spie-gler, and that, “Uber’s legal chal-lenges have continued to grow.”
In August, came reports that the Justice Department has taken preliminary steps to investigate whether managers at Uber had violated a U.S. law against foreign bribery.
And on September 8, Tech-Crunch reported that allegations that an internal Uber software pro-
gram (known as “Hell”) was used to track and target Lyft drivers be-tween 2014 and 2016, are being investigated by the FBI.
So, in what state of health does this leave the $70 billion rideshar-ing company?
While Khosrowshahi hinted at a public stock offering (IPO) in 2019, the Harvard Journal pre-dicts that Uber won’t make it to that point. And City Taxi account manager Neil Shorey suggests, “what’s really going on” is, Uber executives are bailing because of this.
“In San Francisco, every com-pany does a startup, and then all of the senior management hang around for the public stock offer-ing (to get their shares, but that may not happen here),” he sug-gests.
“Their company is not making money. It’s just moving money
around, so long-term it’s unsus-tainable. One day, we will see them die,” he predicts. “In putting in a new CEO, they’re just putting lipstick on a pig.”
For his part, veteran Missis-sauga plate-holder Frank Leong alleges, “Everybody knows Uber is bad. You open up the paper ev-ery day, you see how many things are going on all over the world. But because they have the money, Uber will keep going strong.”
“The money keeps coming in . They will have the money. Gold-man Sachs kicks the money in. These are venture investors.”
Toronto Uber X driver Louis Seta maintains that, “Uber is do-ing just fine. The number of people trying to get into Uber (as drivers) is huge. My knowledge of the situ-ation is, they’re expanding at a record rate and they’re going to continue to expand.”
The MPs allege that Uber has not been doing enough to protect the safety and security of the public
12 October 2017
Even cyclists not entirely happy with new bike lanes• from page 8
when (cyclists) have to swerve around a car or a truck because the bike lane is blocked, they’re going into traffic,” he said.
He urged drivers to pay more respect to bike lanes, “And if you want to go to the variety store, go around the corner and park your car. It’s not too much to ask.”
While separated bike lanes may increase the comfort and safety factor for new cyclists, they have proven to be a source of frustration for more experienced riders.
“I wish it was a little wider, but it’s better than nothing. It’s pretty much single file,” says one daily bike commuter, who uses the Bloor Street bike lane to get across town.
And while it can be danger-ous out there – and he has been knocked off his bike once -- he finds cyclists and motorists are gradually getting on better terms.
“My theory is to obey all the laws,” he says. “If it’s a red light, I don’t go through. That just gets people in a car thinking. Incre-mentally, it’s going to make people aware.”
But he sees cyclists doing some crazy things downtown.
“I’m living by the rules,” he adds. “I think if all cyclists did that there would be less tension between cyclists and cars.”
He agrees if you live close to downtown, it’s quicker to get around on bike.
“And, the more bike lanes they
put in, the warmer winter gets, the more people will use lanes,” he adds. “On Bloor, I pass the same cars (stuck in traffic) every day.”
But Toronto taxi plate-holder Thomas Stern has little time for bikes on the road.
“I think they’re extremely dan-gerous, and they’ve taken away from the driver lanes (and park-ing spaces) for the city,” he of-fers. “They keep saying there’s a lot of congestion downtown. (But in non-rush hour), I don’t think there’s five bikes going down these lanes -- and you’ve closed them down to vehicles.”
He contests that, “You can’t bike in this climate, when we have six to nine months of really cold weather. It’s not practical. If you
live in England (or continental Europe), they don’t get as much snow, and the countries are small-er.”
Mississauga resident Doug El-lis beefs that while motorists must pay taxes on the purchase of their vehicle, their driver’s license, in-surance, gas, and repairs, cyclists pay taxes on next to nothing.
“Taxpayers pay for these bike lanes,” he says. “And, you read about a bicyclist hit by a car, he’s got no insurance to pay for it, no ID on the bike, no plate number so you can phone your insurance company to find out who he is.
“It‘s totally unfair. They’re sup-posed to obey the same rules as car drivers, but they don’t.”
However, the commitment to
cycling is a Canada-wide trend, and Toronto Council is poised to keep building up the infrastruc-ture. Witness the recent expansion of its Bike Share Toronto program, which has added another 70 bike stations (with the help of increased federal and provincial funding). Designed to “transform the way that Torontonians move, and work”, this program now numbers 270 bike stations, 2,750 bikes, and 4,200 docks.
And while the car-bike wars will continue, cyclists say it would go a long way if drivers would just learn to chill out a bit on our streets.
As one gently reminds them, “You aren’t stuck in traffic, you are traffic.”
Committee members are: Jon Burnside, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Frank Di Giorgio,
Jim Karygiannis (Vice Chair), Frances Nunziata, Cesar Palacio (Chair) MEETINGS IN COMMITTEE ROOM 1
Secretariat Contact: Dela Ting, 10th floor, West Tower, City Hall100 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5H 2N2
email: [email protected], or by phone at 416-397-4592 or by fax at 416-392-1879
L&S MEETING SCHEDULE 2017
The following is the list of scheduled meetings of the Licensing and Standards Committee for 2017.
Dec., 2016 no meeting scheduled
January 13, 2017 - 9:30 am
March 6, 2017 - 9:30 am
April 18, 2017 - 9:30 am
May 5, 2017 - 9:30 am
June 14, 2017 - 9:30 am
September 18, 2017 - 9:30 am October 20, 2017 - 9:30 am November 20, 2017 - 9:30 am
Dec., 2017 no meeting scheduled
Friday, October 20, 2017
Mississauga has received complaints Uber vehicles not identified• from page 12nothing, on the other side, every-thing (against taxi drivers).”
Starr informed the Committee that, “I’ve got several calls about unmarked vehicles picking up, and they should be more vigilant on that. It’s scary to think somebody who is not an Uber driver is pick-ing somebody up.
“That’s unfair competition, and they promised they would be iden-tified.”
The Committee also approved Cormier’s motion requesting that a brief Staff report on the Pilot Project be filed at every PVAC meeting, for the duration of the 18 months.
Veteran owner/operators are still seething about the issuance of those 38 “unneeded” plates.
According to Khairallah, “The general feeling (amongst industry members) is we’re on the way to
deregulation. They don’t want the regulations. The TNC’s don’t like it, so let’s get rid of it.
“It takes you five years to come up with the bylaw to protect every-body, and here we throw it down the drain.”
Owner Alexander Montadis al-leged these 38 issuances were, “the result of blatant political in-terference in the plate issuance process”, and that industry deputa-tions at city hall are now, “just for show”.
“Council ignored fully and com-pletely the protestations of long-time plate-holders who contribut-ed to the City’s established public vehicle system for over 50 years – and pleaded on bended knee to not issue these plates—and refused to adopt a unanimous PVAC decision not to issue any additional plates,” he wrote in a September 16 letter to the City.
He suggested the political class of the City of Mississauga should, “hang their heads in shame”.
“Where were you to defend the interests and livelihoods of those who worked for, and trusted the City, that they would have a rea-sonable pension in their old age?” he asked. “The City has washed its hands of its responsibility to its ex-cabbies. They are disposable, unneeded, and have been replaced.
PVAC’s credibility as a Standing Committee since 1972 has been reduced to nil.”
After 39 years in the cab busi-ness, Frank Leong said there should be some financial compen-sation for owners.
“My plates are now worth only $20,000 --- before it was $260,000,” he beefed. “I have two plates. I was retired. That was my pension. We got ripped off.
“(Council) didn’t do anything to help us. Nobody cares.”
Sexsmith also expressed con-cern with a Staff recommendation which would allow corporations to invest in taxis.
“It will get us back to the old days of fleet operators, subleasing, part-time drivers, and dirty cars,” he said. “It just takes us down the Uber road. It’s a race to the bottom.”