TORONTO

Toronto council gave the thumbs up to a $25 vomit charge for passengers who throw up in the back of a cab.

While councillors okayed the fee Wednesday, it’s unclear when taxi drivers can start imposing the charge.

“A driver’s going to have to pull over and clean up the cab and spend some time and money,” said Councillor Gord Perks, who added the fee is “reasonable.”

The fee was part of a Taxi Industry Review, which also contained recommendations for creating a new type of licence.

Councillor Doug Ford said he sympathizes with drivers and passengers with stomach problems.

“It’s probably not fair to either one,” he said. “Someone’s stomach is upset and they go to the hospital and they throw up, how is it their fault? At the same time, how is it the taxi’s fault? I feel sorry for the taxi driver and I feel sorry for someone going to the hospital.”

But he doesn’t have any sympathy for riders “hammered out of their mind and throwing up all over the taxi.”

Council also voted in favour of creating the new Toronto Taxicab Licence (TTL) by July 1.

The new licence will require cabbies to drive their taxis a minimum of 167 hours per month before they can rent it out to others. A driver will also have to operate a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

It would also eventually phase out agents who make money by managing cabs for plate owners.

Cab drivers in favour of the new licence cheered when the votes were tallied in their favour.

Sajid Mughal — president of the iTaxiworkers Association — said the move means drivers will be able to earn a better wage.

“For sure, because hundreds of millions of dollars were going out from this industry through this middleman,” he said.

But Beck Taxi operations manager Kristine Hubbard warned the new owner-operated licence could mean fewer cabs on the roads when people need them.

“They take people to the bars but they don’t want to bring them home from them,” she said. “You don’t see them on snowy days, you don’t see them at the less desirable times.”