Toronto’s downtown core is clogged with Uber and Lyft vehicles, and many of them are driving around without customers, contributing to pollution and the crippling congestion that plagues the city.
That’s one of the arguments City staff is making as it pushes for a cap on ride-share licences. This would be the second attempt to cap ride-share licences after the first was abandoned last October under the threat of legal action by Uber.
According to a City Staff report presented to the Executive Committee in late November, 14 per cent of all vehicles in Toronto’s downtown core are ride-shares, and nearly 30 per cent of them are driving around without customers (either waiting for their next fare or driving to the next pick-up destination).
The report proposes capping the number of licences at 80,429, the number it stood at as of Dec. 1, 2024. Exemptions would be made for zero-emission and wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
The report says the cap would be a “proactive measure to mitigate the risk of increasing traffic congestion and emissions…”
“This increased congestion can have an impact on all road users, including the efficient and reliable operation of TTC surface transit,” the report states.
The taxi industry says the cap at over 80,000 ride-share licences is still too high, while some opponents of the plan, like city councillor Brad Bradford, don’t think there should be any cap at all.
“We have an arbitrary cap that’s being imposed right now,” Bradford said on Tuesday. “At the end of the day, that will increase the cost for consumers [and] for Torontonians, it will make it longer to secure a ride, and it will make it less convenient.”
Kristine Hubbard, Operations Manager at Beck Taxi, thinks it’s still too high and will hurt customers and drivers.
“For the end user, you’re going to start paying more, you’re going to hear from drivers that they are not making enough, and we’ve heard recently that Uber and Lyft drives are asking for e-money transfers to make up the difference. This is not the experience that the end user is looking for.”
Uber says a cap is not needed, but the company has not yet revealed if it would launch a legal challenge this time around.
Report finds ride-share drivers are underpaid
Meanwhile, another report found that ride-share drivers in Toronto earn less than $6 an hour after expenses while logged onto their respective apps.
“It’s not possible to survive on this money,” Uber driver Dmytro told CityNews. “Six bucks, and you need to pay for gas?”
The report found that in 2024, the median average wage after expenses while logged on was just $5.90 an hour after accounting for taxes, vehicle maintenance and fees.
“I was on the road yesterday morning [and] in two-and-a-half hours, I made $11,” Earla Phillips, Vice President of the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario and an Uber driver, told CityNews.
The hourly wage rises to $15 for engaged time, which is time spent actively driving customers to their destinations.
Uber, however, says earnings per online hour are not an appropriate way to calculate wages for app-based work because, for example, a driver could turn the app on but not actively seek customers.
Uber also says it has been pressing the province to develop a minimum earnings standard for engaged time.
CityNews reached out to the Ministry of Labour for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
With files from Alan Carter and Michelle Mackey of CityNews