Oliver Moore asks: “Do Canada’s Taxi Drivers have a place in transportation’s changing future?” : Globe And Mail October 4, 2018

Oliver Moore asks whether or not Canada’s taxi drivers have a place in transportations future?

I say they certainly do once the taxi brokers get out of their box and collaboratively link themselves and their drivers together through an App based Central Dispatch Network (CDN) which links all the drivers and their brokers into a single CDN such as ProCabby as described here in one of their ads shown below.

ProCabby is an Ottawa based CDN that’s presently recruiting drivers and their brokers throughout North America these past two years.  Governments are becoming increasingly interested in such a service, particularly where persons with disabilities are concerned.

Riders sole concern is typically timely service, professionalism and vehicle condition.  Uber’s popularity flows primarily from their ability to recruit driver owners without a transferrable medallion and through their sheer numbers can respond much faster than taxis encumbered with the fixed licensing.

Their ability to recruit driver owners, including cab drivers is the direct result of charging their drivers a fixed percentage commission per trip rather than fixed–and often usuriously high stand rents charged by the brokers.  ProCabby charges 7.1% of fares dispatched by—and only by ProCabby.  All other trips such as flags and trips prearranged without ProCabby’s involvement are not charged a commission.

A CDN such as ProCabby can save a taxi company a ton of money in dispatching costs as the CDN could connect each and every customer with a cab without anyone in the office at all.  Remote call centers can handle all phone business and customer concerns.

Let the cab companies and fleet operators focus on their cars and driver training and let the ProCabby do the dispatching.

 



 


 

HYBRID LICENSING OF TAXIS? OH PLEASE!

Last May 27, 2019 council, in the course of its regular session to rubber stamp the usurious increase licensing in licensing fees for cab drivers while giving ride sharing TNCs such as Uber a sizable break on such fees even had the temerity to hear administration mention the Livery Transport Service (LTS) describe their policy of Hybrid licensing.

Hybrid licensing is LTS’ policy of applying  one set of licensing fees and rules for taxi drivers while yet another far less stringent set of rules and fees for the TNCs. It simply means that Uber can have as many cars on the road as it wants while the number of taxis must remain frozen at their present level.  In other words, any increase in demand for public automobile transportation is to be reserved for Uber and no one else contrary to the Municipal Government Act.

There is absolutely nothing in the City Bylaws or Provincial legislation that allows it–so where did they get that bright idea.

It appears that council is eager to spend even more of heavily burdened taxpayers money on legal fees.

Click the link below to see for yourself how council handled the overall licensing issue.  It clearly betrays government favoritism towards Uber at the expense of traditional taxi drivers including TNC drivers.

SEE THE DEBATE HERE it’s 7.2 on the minutes.  Just click it and it will take you to that part of the video where this is discussed.