Ottawa proposes financial incentives to get accessible taxis on the road

City staff want to make changes to the taxi bylaw to get more accessible cabs on the road March 22, 2012.

The city of Ottawa is looking to offer financial incentives to taxi drivers to boost the number of accessible taxis operating on city streets and help offset the rising costs of operating a cab.

City staff say of the 191 fully wheelchair accessible vehicles that could be operating, only 80 are currently available in Ottawa, with 20 of those working for Para Transpo.

In a report for Thursday's emergency preparedness and protective services committee, staff say the accessible taxi service in Ottawa has "become inadequate in recent years", and there is recognition that accessible taxicab drivers face "significantly higher costs" for vehicles and maintenance. A new, fully wheelchair accessible vehicle would cost up to $100,000, according to the city.

Now, staff are recommending a three-year pilot project to offer incentives for accessible taxicab drivers, with the goal of getting all 191 accessible plates on the road and improving service for users.

The first recommendation would see the city offer a grant of $5,000 for three years for each accessible taxicab plate holder for investment in a fully wheelchair accessible vehicle.

Taxi drivers would be eligible for another $2,000 a year if they are available 50 hours a week, for 48 weeks a year, "accepting all on-demand wheelchair accessible trip requests and maintaining the vehicle operational and available for dispatch."

The report also recommends implementing a per trip levy of $15 to accessible taxicab drivers for each completed wheelchair accessible vehicle fare.

The proposed initiatives would cost the city $1.5 million a year over the three-year period.

Councillors are also being asked to approve the establishment of a centralized dispatch service for on-demand wheelchair accessible vehicles.

"Centralized Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle dispatch would ensure that all requests for Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles are routed through a dedicated application/website/telephone number and dispatched to the closest available vehicle to the benefit of both the client and the driver," staff say.

The report also recommends increasing the accessible vehicle age from 10 years to 12 years, eliminating the requirement that standard and accessible taxicabs must be less than five years old when entering the fleet, and reducing the accessible plate holder license transfer fee to $312.