Toronto City Council is being asked to support a move toward a single Toronto Taxicab Licence (TTL) that will eventually lead to more owner-operated cabs travelling on our streets.

Officials say replacing the complicated three-tiered system will improve working conditions for drivers and enhance customer service.

But phasing in a new system will take several years. Owners of the new TTL will be required to be the main drivers of vehicles that — eventually — will have to be wheelchair-accessible.

Currently 3,500 taxi drivers, one-third of the 10,367 in Toronto, pay $2,000 a month to rent a licence. One corporation that owns 120 plates receives $6 million annually.

That means $84 million a year is “coming out of the pockets of the people riding cabs (and) going to those who simply own the licences,” said Councillor David Shiner.

“That’s what we’re trying to help control — put those dollars back into the taxicabs themselves and into the industry.” That, in turn, will result in better taxis, better service and lower fares, he said.

The one-licence structure is among 40 proposals contained in the “Taxicab Industry Review Final Report,” which will be considered by the licensing committee at its meeting next Thursday. The report is on the city council agenda for Feb. 19.

It recommends that as of July 1, all new taxi licences issued by Toronto will require the vehicle to be wheelchair-accessible. Only 3.5 per cent are currently wheelchair-accessible.

The proposals call for 6 per cent, or 290, of all Toronto taxis to be wheelchair-accessible by 2015 — in time for Toronto hosting the Pan Am Games. The long-term goal is for 100 per cent of the taxicab fleet to be wheelchair-accessible.

“That would be fantastic,” said Helena Griner. Currently, taxis that are wheelchair-accessible are slow to arrive and costly — so she often takes regular taxis. But she’s had a taxi van arrive that wasn’t accessible after all.

“I was, ‘Why did you send me a regular van; you know I’m paralyzed, what do you expect me to do, stand up and get in?’”

There are 4,849 taxis operating in Toronto that make 65,000 trips daily, generating an estimated $1.6 million a year.

Toronto’s taxi fares are among the highest in North America. The report recommended no change, but called for a review every two years. The average ride costs $25, after jumping 13 per cent in 2010 due to the HST.

But not everyone likes to pay. Taxi drivers experience one or two “fare jumpers” a month on average, officials said Thursday after a technical briefing at city hall.

That is why the city’s licensing division is recommending that drivers be allowed to charge passengers up to $25 upfront “when they deem necessary.”

Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong acknowledged that the arbitrariness of drivers choosing who to ask could be problematic. “If doesn’t work, we’re going to have to revisit it,” he said.

Staff also recommended that drivers have authority to charge a $25 “vomit fee” if a passenger soils the taxicab.

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Council is being asked to endorse pilot projects on the feasibility of using fire hydrants as cabstands in the downtown core as well as implementing “hail spots.”

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