How Safe Are Our Toronto Cabs??

The Toronto Star recently did an investigation on Toronto Taxi drivers (full article here).  It's something you never really think about, though it really is such a simple thought - would you get into a car with a stranger??

Taxi drivers automatically get exempt from that thought, because you figure that they've made it through some extensive screening process.  That's where we're wrong.  The article outlines some very disturbing facts about the city's guidelines, as well as what different companies require.  The city only requires a criminal record check once every four years, and they operate on an "honour system", which "requires" drivers to report any criminal or traffic charges.

The article outlines a few specific instances involving drunk driving, assault, and even a very disturbing sexual assault on a 13 year old girl with a severe mental illness.  The worst part is that very few taxi drivers lose their license.  According to the article, 340 of the drivers who were refused renewal within the past five years appealed this decision, and only 53 of which were denied their appeal.  So all you have to do is appeal a revoked license, the odds are in your favour.

Some taxi companies maintain their own integrity by implementing an internal screening process.  Royal Taxi runs regular criminal checks on their drivers, and require for their employees to be bondable.  Beck and Diamond do not have their own screening process, they just rely on the city's.

So what do we do about this?  Taxis are vital to our city, and serve as a great alternative for drunk driving.  I don't think the onus for a more vigorous screening process should be on the city, our tax money should not go towards the due diligence of Taxi companies.  I do think that regulations should be put in place, such as the screening process for companies, or taxi cabs should have locks that are only locked from the outside but can always open from the inside so that passengers are never locked in.

From now on, I would recommend that we only use Royal Taxi.