November 9, 2010 - 2:41 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Taxis lined up on Toronto streets is a common occurrence as drivers are really struggling under the weight of higher fares and far too many cabs on the road to sustain viable numbers.
This is an important piece from Councillor Geoff Meggs about the taxi industry.
Like I wondered a few weeks back, it is amazing how cab drivers are able to make enough to feed their families:
“Although Vancouver has the lowest number of cabs per capita of any major Canadian city, no one is arguing that taxi driving is a ticket to wealth. Cab driving is made up of long hours of unemployment punctuated by periods of intense activity. A driver sitting waiting for a fare is paying the car owner for the privilege.”
Let me tell you that the Ambassador licenses in Toronto have made driving cab in Toronto a very tough proposition, and rates have risen to the highest in the country.
A similar idea in Vancouver might very well lead to a mass exodus of drivers from the industry, largely because the living offered by the job would not be enough to make the long hours worth a driver’s while.
Meanwhile, there is one company that continues to baffle logic when it comes to their recent moves.
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October 12, 2010 - 9:57 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
October 5, 2010 - 8:45 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
The proposed Hornby Bike Lane route has produced some surprising and thought provoking responses from local businesses when contrasted to a similar exercise within the Bloor West Village and its proposed bike lane in Toronto.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is set to speak to City Council this morning armed with their just released survey results comprised of responses from 73 Hornby business owners regarding the impact of the proposed Hornby bike lane trial.
According to the CFIB data, “92 per cent of business owners fear a negative impact on their business, and of those providing a projection, the sales loss averages 23 per cent if the proposed bike lane project goes forward” (as you can see, how many of those 73 business owners actually offered a guess as to what their potential losses could be is ambiguous, making this figure hard to pin down in terms of accuracy or consensus).
Regardless, a recent report about the impact of a proposed bike lane that would eliminate 50 per cent of parking in the Bloor West Village in Toronto shows results that are very different than those offered by the CFIB.
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May 27, 2010 - 12:00 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Toronto's gridlock is now rated as the worst amongst 19 major metropolis', including Los Angeles, New York and London.
This morning both Gregor Robertson and Dianne Watts (by conference call) participated in the Big City Mayors’ Caucus (BCMC) meeting as part of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) festivities occurring in Toronto this week.
I am happy that the mayors have taken to the national media to push the issue of transportation infrastructure within municipalities, as it is very clear that funding, or a lack thereof, are one of the major obstacles in terms of competitiveness for Canadian cities.
In British Columbia, and more specifically Metro Vancouver, we have experienced a stretch of significant investment prompted by the Olympics, giving the region a skewered view of the realities of provincial and federal support for our cities’ aging infrastructure.
For the rest of the country that didn’t have the benefit of hosting the world as a catalyst, the picture is far bleaker.
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