Toronto taxi drivers

This is the first systematic attempt to study the industry since the Thomas Report in 1996 and the Report of the Task Force to Review the Taxi Industry in 1998. [...] Given the experience of other cities, it seems likely that no one form of organization dominated the industry.2 The Report of the 1998 Task Force to Review the Taxi Industry (Task Force Report)3 pro- vides a good account of major changes in the industry in the second half of the twentieth century. [...] The change also appears to have been a response to a percep- tion by many drivers that it would allow them to achieve the status of entrepreneur rather than driver/employee.4 These two features of the taxicab licenses led to rapid and dramatic changes in the struc- ture of the industry in the following two decades. [...] In consultations held at the end of the 1990s, many stakeholders passionately linked low driver income to the poor quality of service, arguing that pride in one’s work and the abil- ity to earn a reasonable wage was directly related to the quality of service offered to the customer. [...] The demand for reform Increased complaints from members of the industry and of the public led to a recognition of the need to study the industry and areas of possible reform.