Centennial College is partnering with the Toronto Taxi Alliance (TTA) to create a mandatory driving program for Toronto taxi drivers, starting this fall.
The program will assess driver’s English language skills and teach lessons in customer service, cultural sensitivity, and defensive driving, according to a press release. It will replace Toronto’s previous taxi training program, which recently ended in May. Classes will take place at Ashtonbee campus in Scarborough.
Although the program is primarily geared at new drivers entering the taxi business, existing drivers who receive customer complaints may have to complete the course as well, according to the release.
Rita Smith, executive director of the TTA, said the previous program took too much time away from full-time drivers’ jobs and focused too much on academic and irrelevant material.
”Our program is going to be far more focused, the material is going to be far more relevant,” she said.
With the rise of ride-sharing, primarily companies like Uber, Smith said the TTA hopes to differentiate themselves from part-time drivers by providing professional and qualified drivers.
“Our competition are not professional drivers,” she said. “What we are doing is making a real competitive [difference] over the fact that we have professional drivers that are committed to the field.”
The new courses will be held in the evening, allowing drivers to work during the days, Smith said. Drivers will be required to pass an English assessment in order to move forward with the rest of the program.
The course will take 18 hours total, consisting of three hours each evening and a whole day on Saturday, she added.
The previous training program did not require taxi drivers to test their skills on the road with an instructor, but the new course will require drivers to get behind the wheel, she said.
Emily Chapman, a fourth-year English student from Toronto, said she usually chooses Uber for it’s convenience and cheaper prices compared to taxi services, but Uber is not her first choice when travelling alone.
“When I’m with friends, Uber is simply cheaper and more convenient than taking a taxi,” she said. “However, I’d definitely take a taxi if I was traveling alone, because I feel more safe in them.”
Chapman said she thinks the new program is a good initiative and seems like it will address many of the current flaws in the taxi industry.
“I think the program is a really good idea. There doesn’t seem to be any downsides to it,” she said. “I have encountered language barriers before when taking both taxis and [Uber], so I think this initiative will be helpful in addressing that.”
