The current closure of a taxi company within the Greater Toronto Area highlights the impact of rising insurance costs on the industry, in line with an industry body.
Burlington Taxi had been in operation for over 52 years in the past and employed round 280 individuals earlier than closing its doorways final week – and company president Scott Wallace pointed to a dramatic rise in insurance charges as one of the primary causes for the closure.
Read extra: Insurance points threaten cab company’s enterprise
“Some people are paying upwards of $18,000 per car per year,” Wallace informed CityNews. “That’s up from $5,000 just a few years ago.”
And for Behrouz Khamseh, president of industry affiliation Taxi Owners and Operators, Burlington Taxi’s closure was not stunning, given the surge in insurance costs additionally coincides with labour shortages and elevated competitors from rideshare corporations like Uber.
“You cannot continue to pay $17,000 to $20,000 to insure a taxi when you don’t have the business,” Khamseh informed CityNews. “I think the politicians, they knew this was going to happen and they didn’t care.”
Meanwhile, Burlington mayor Marianne Meed Ward informed Toronto Star that the town is working to deal with the loss of the service.
“We are all saddened by news of Burlington Taxi’s closure,” Ward informed the publication. “This is a huge loss of a long-standing business in our city and a community partner of decades that supported many local charities.”