Toronto is home to one of the earliest forms of urban transportation in the world.
What I am speaking about is the community ” Mini-Wagon” or ” Mini- Bus”. Whether it is travelling to the game of soccer or going to
get the groceries for any of our elders or others, A ”Mini-Van” provideds cargo space and passenger comfort far
beyond what was originally designed in a Passenger Vehicle.
Some designs are better at various thnings than others, but they have
similar characteristics.
They have Space for the Driver, There is room for additional Passengers , and depending on the model, and Brand , they are adaptable for the amounts of Cargo that can be loaded into them safely and securely.
Recently, In British Columbia, unfortunately, there was a tragic accident, and a Mini-Van was loaded with passengers in excess of the seatbelts available, and there were some fatalities.
In Ontario there have been similar accidents.
Perhaps if there were an efficent dispatching system for
Mini-Van Co-ordination, there would be less risk of these types of accidents
happening in the future, and If there were stricter regulations
regarding the driving of these vehicles, the fatalities may
not have ocurred.
For Mini-Vans currently, you only need a Class ”G” licence or if you
are a learner, your ”G1″ or ”G2″ graduated licence to drive a vehicle that
can contain up to 6 people in it.
How can the city influence this type of vehicle use?
By implementing a shared carpool system where drivers can pick up passengers and be re-imbursed for their trouble and expenses. Should it be managed by independant Transportation companies or by a super-beheamoth one-size-fits-all bureau?
I would leave that to the respective areas to decide, but without the infrastructure in palce there is very little incentive for people to share ride usage in this city.
First part is Laibility Insurance. There should be a ”Rider” added to a
policy holder’s Automobile policy for ”Shared Ride Usage” to
allow for the coverage to extend to the passengers while
they are being transported in a private vehicle.
This will protect BOTH the driver and the passenger from unwanton influence
in the decision to take private or public transit.
By enabling the insurance industry to Manage the risks associated
with driving in such a shared environment, it would allow for
reduced costs in the operation of the vehicle.
“Good Drivers” would be rewarded with reduced overall rates, that are deferred by the designation of being a “Super Driver” from the Licencing of Vehicles that are Community Mini-Vans.
The Down side for this though would be initially to the Dispatch Offices
for the Independant Cab Companies. This would be leveled
out though by having the dispatching function done by one common telephone number for calling up a ride . IE in toronto it would be 310-RIDE or similar, so that all Calls would go to central taxi Dispatch, The cost of the Fare
would have a base portion that would be paying for the
Dispatching system, and Each of the Independant Taxi Service companies
would get a ’seat’ on the directorship of the board , along with
representaives of our respoective city ,and the province.
The payment of the ”Mini-Van” Shuttle would come from ”Token” payments that would be purchaseable from any TTC Vendor in the city. It is simply a rechargeable card that the user would buy in increments of $10, 20, 50 dollars per time, and be used to purchase ”Mini-Ride” transportation.
For example, A ride in a neighborhood available taxi might cost !0.00 to start, but with a ”mini-Ride Fare card it would be $5.00 for the trip. The Driver may not exactly be going to the exact location you want, but it would be within a 10 minute walk of your destination.
The Difference would be that instead of an exclusive Cab ride, it would be community neighbors that either originate or end at the same spot or are expected to arrive at the similar location.
Why now, you may ask ?
With the cost of gasoline going up and up, it is time that there are
new ideas brought forth so that everyone can breathe a bit
easier.
In the summer Bicycles are great, but in the winter, they are
fairly awkward to travel with in the snow and the slush.
This way, with a shared usage allowed to Personal use Vehicles, the
Average cost per mile will decreace, and the amount of fuel wasted
to our environment will go down.
Isn’t about time that these ideas are allowed to grow with
help form both you and I.
Let me know your thoughts about this or any other Transportation
and Travel Issue.
I wilcome opinion and contrary views equally well.
