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The Vehicle-for-Hire Industry is a term used to refer to the broader private transportation industry, which includes Taxis, Transportation Network Companies (T.N.C.) e.g. Uber, Lyft, etc., Designated Driving (D.D.) Services, and Limousines.

A Transportation Network Company or “T.N.C.” is a company that connects paying passengers with drivers of private vehicles-for-hire solely through a mobile application or “app”

The general business model of a T.N.C. is as follows:

1. A customer requests a ride using the T.N.C.’s app
2. The T.N.C. driver picks up the customer and transports them to their destination
3. At the end of the ride, both the driver and customer rate each other

The entire transaction from hailing the ride to payment is facilitated through the T.N.C.’s app. 

While T.N.C., Taxicab and, to a lesser extent, Designated Drivers, offer similar services, they differ in the three following ways:

• Conveyance of passenger(s)
• Arranging or Hailing of Rides
• Employment Classification of Driver

See the table below for additional details.

No. Presently, the general business model of T.N.Cs does not comply with the City’s Taxicab Licensing By-law 50-2003.

The City is presently undertaking an extensive industry stakeholder and public consultation process to discuss the role of T.N.C.s within the city’s network of private transportation services, which include the regulated Taxicab and Designated Driving (D.D.) services industries. Following the consultation process, staff will assess the feedback and report back to the Corporate Services Committee with regulatory policy options at their September 11, 2017 meeting.