Gas price relief

City Council moved last month to offer Toronto taxi drivers a little relief at the gas pumps. At its June 23-24 meeting Council approved an average fare increase of 12.5 percent, upping the drop from $3 to $4 and boosting mileage prices by as much as 17 percent for longer runs.

Camera ‘spy-ware’ sparks new debate

Digital camera hardware for monitoring driver behaviour has no place in cabs, say critics who believe the technology is an invasion of privacy. Others, chief among them fleet owners and insurers, say the hardware is an effective way to improve drivers’ performance.

by Mike Beggs

A new digital camera which promises to, “significantly improve the driving habits of commercial drivers, teenagers, and others” should not find its’ way into Toronto taxicabs, warns long-time driver Gerald Manley.

Just introduced by the Texas-based Advanced EDR Systems, the “enviroCAM” is an Event Data Recorder that records High Definition video of aggressive driving and accidents. It has been accepting advance orders for months from corporate customers south of the border, for whom it represents a chance to bring down both the number of accidents and insurance rates.

Other video Event Data Recorders are already in wide use by commercial fleets. And Advanced EDR president Daneil D’Agostino cites, “a tremendous demand for a cost-effective product among businesses that depend on safe driving, such as taxis, and insurance companies which view this technology as a way to modify the driving behaviour of consumers, particularly teens (who are 900 per cent more likely to get in an accident, than adults).” MORE

City approves meter hike to offset rising gas prices

by John Q. Duffy

A 12.5 percent average taxi fare increase was approved by Toronto City Council at its meeting of June 23-24, 2008.

The drop, or initial cost of getting into a cab, will go up from $3 to $4. As well, the distance cost will go from $.25 per .17 km (170 meters) to $.25 per .155 km (155 meters).

For short runs, the average increase will be just over 11 percent, and for longer runs the increase will work out to be just over 17 percent.

A suggestion from Councillor Mike Del Grande of smaller increase increments, 5 cents and 10 cents, was soundly rejected by Council.

The feeling was that neither Council, city staff or the industry wanted to give the impression the public was being “nickel and dimed” in fare increases. MORE

T.O. limos press for special event licenses

More flexibility in licensing is needed to accommodate major events and the changing expectations of consumers, say Toronto’s limo operators

by Mike Beggs

A Temporary Event License emerged as the key issue when Toronto Municipal Licensing & Standards held a Limousine Stakeholder’s Meeting on June 16 at the Scarborough Civic Centre.

Several limo players voiced the need for such a license, particularly for the annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), returning from September 4 to 13, when they say there’s a huge demand for limos over one 10-day period. They want approval to rent late-model vehicles -- in particular SUV’s, which they say have overtaken the stretch limo as the in vogue vehicle -- and to put temporary drivers on them. MORE