Toronto City Council Considers Mandatory Training for Ride-Hailing Drivers

According to a Global News report, the Toronto City Council has approved a motion to review the reinstatement of mandatory training for drivers of ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. The motion was passed unanimously and requested that city staff come up with recommendations for the training requirements of transportation companies.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that it’s going to lead to something productive,” said Patrick Cameron, who lost his brother in an Uber crash in March. “But I’m holding judgment until the recommendation from city staff actually comes back to see what form it actually takes. Is it actually substantive training? Is it actually going to make a difference in improving people’s safety?”

Following heavy lobbying by Uber back in 2016, the city had scrapped driver training requirements, which included a mandatory 17-day training course for both taxi and ride-hailing company drivers. Now, the critics have been urging the city to reinstate those training requirements for private transportation companies and other vehicles for hire.

Beck Taxi, which is currently the only company that requires drivers to complete training, makes them complete a week-long course at Centennial College before they can get behind the wheels. “We would say everyone should go through that training,” said Beck Taxi operations manager Kristine Hubbard.

While the approved motion asks the staff to consider reviewing the municipal code on private transportation companies, the council will, however, need to vote again on whether to implement the review or not in 2019.