The recent closure of a taxi company in the Greater Toronto Area highlights the impact of rising insurance costs on the industry, according to an industry body.
Burlington Taxi had been in operation for over 52 years ago and employed around 280 people before closing its doors last week – and company president Scott Wallace pointed to a dramatic rise in insurance rates as one of the main reasons for the closure.
“Some people are paying upwards of $18,000 per car per year,” Wallace told CityNews. “That’s up from $5,000 just a few years ago.”
And for Behrouz Khamseh, president of industry association Taxi Owners and Operators, Burlington Taxi’s closure was not surprising, given the surge in insurance costs also coincides with labour shortages and increased competition from rideshare companies like Uber.
“You cannot continue to pay $17,000 to $20,000 to insure a taxi when you don’t have the business,” Khamseh told CityNews. “I think the politicians, they knew this was going to happen and they didn’t care.”
Meanwhile, Burlington mayor Marianne Meed Ward told Toronto Star that the city is working to address the loss of the service.
“We are all saddened by news of Burlington Taxi’s closure,” Ward told 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.”
