Taxi executive claims Ontario drivers are a much bigger problem than bike lanes

The Ontario government introduced controversial legislation in October that, if passed, would require municipalities to receive approval from the province before installing new bike lanes which would result in the removal of lanes for traffic. 

As part of the legislation, cities like Toronto would be required to show that the proposed bike lanes won’t have a negative impact on vehicle traffic. The legislation was quickly criticized by cycling advocacy groups and activists across the province, who argued that the new rules would harm vulnerable road users. 

One taxi executive in Ontario argues that bike lanes are not the issue, rather it is the “selfish” drivers who “believe their time is more valuable than others” and continue to put others at risk of injury. 

On Wednesday, Operations Manager at Beck Taxi, Kristine Hubbard, responded to a set of photos shared by MPP for University-Rosedale Jessica Bell of the Rally & Ride for Road Safety. 

In the tweet, Hubbard argued that cars and drivers are the main obstacle when it comes to keeping roads safe and traffic flowing, not bike lanes. 

“I work in an industry that is part of the roadway ecosystem in Toronto.  Everyone needs to have their place, especially the most vulnerable road users.  This is just common sense – it’s safer when everyone knows where everyone else is and/or should be,” Hubbard told blogTO. 

The taxi executive argues that a number of other factors actually create traffic, including the province’s approval of a hybrid insurance product that has reduced the overall coverage meant to protect the public by making it easier for anyone to “hop in a car to try to make money in a commercial vehicle” that doesn’t come with commercial insurance costs. 

Hubbard also notes that the City of Toronto ignored its own commissioned report that indicated the city had enough passenger transportation vehicles to maintain an appropriate balance of service, supply, and driver income. 

This, Hubbard argues, invited over “100,000 vehicles to cruise our streets, empty half the time” and drove people away from the TTC into single-passenger vehicles. 

In addition, the taxi executive says the City removed important requirements such as driver training and car inspections specific to passenger transportation vehicles, which compounded the safety issues associated with flooding the streets. 

“Skilled drivers are a thing of the past due to lowering the bar of what is required to get a driver’s license and/or a license and insurance to use your car for commercial purposes,” Hubbard told blogTO. 

“How do you allow our streets to be flooded by drivers making little money, encouraging them to make risky choices while driving, keeping them from being able to maintain their vehicles, creating congestion and pollution, and blame bike lanes/cyclists?” 

The taxi executive says she drives along the Eglinton LRT route from Bathurst to east of the Don Valley Parkway every day and constantly witnesses drivers who blow through stop signs and race against lights. 

“Drivers will stop and block the single lane unexpectedly or park in bike lanes.  They may stop at stop signs but only for the sake of stopping, so often ignoring the person who is hoping to cross without getting run over.  The close calls by drivers that I witness are astounding,” Hubbard said. 

“What happens when cyclists don’t have a lane? They’ll be on the sidewalk or in traffic.  Further, people will assume that these routes will have less traffic, encouraging more cars to take them, and we’ll all be stuck still, but cyclists and pedestrians will be at even greater risk of injury,” she continued. 

“The most vulnerable people are so often the most negatively impacted by policy from every level of government.”