OttawaAs the City of Kingston moves to take over the regulation of local taxis, staff have discovered an accessibility program running a deficit of roughly $230,000 and are warning significant changes are needed for it to survive.City paying drivers as commission says it’s run out of moneyDan Taekema · CBC News · Posted: Nov 13, 2025 3:42 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.While the city has moved to withdraw from the Kingston Area Taxi Commission, it won’t be officially dissolved until September 2026. (Dan Taekema/CBC)As the City of Kingston moves to take over the regulation of local taxis, staff have discovered an accessibility program running a deficit of roughly $230,000 and are warning significant changes are needed for it to survive.The deficit was uncovered on Nov. 6 when Modern City Taxi, which operates the accessible taxi program, contacted the city saying it had not been paid for more than a week and had received no response when it contacted the Kingston & Area Taxi Commission (KATC), according to a city report.Kingston’s chief administrative officer Lanie Hurdle wrote that she had authorized the city to pay the taxi drivers and had contacted the commission, where a consultant said it had “depleted all of its funds” to support the program and wouldn’t be able to make any future payments.Hurdle said the city has continued to cover the commission’s costs and has paid out about $16,000 per week over the last two weeks.Hurdles said running the program in the same way would cost the city more than $830,000 a year — more than double the $300,000 to $350,000 currently collected.There are also unanswered questions about a $60,000 loan issued from the city to the commission to help buy vehicles, according to the report.Representatives of the commission have not yet commented.’Lack of financial accountability’In a news release, Kingscourt-Rideau Coun. Brandon Tozzo urged his colleagues not to reappoint any of the current commissioners, and said once the city obtains KATC’s financial records it should carry out a forensic audit to “determine how this debt occurred and whether any funds were misused.”Tozzo resigned from the commission at the end of July, citing a “complete and utter lack of financial accountability.” Under the program, approved passengers who are unable use conventional transit or taxis are charged a $3.50 fare for a one-way trip, regardless of their income. The rest is subsidized mostly through a fee collected from ride-hailing services such as Uber operating in Kingston.”The KATC’s financial mismanagement jeopardized a crucial program relied upon by people with disabilities,” Tozzo wrote. ‘Significant changes’ requiredCouncil later voted to eliminate the commission and assume its responsibilities, though KATC won’t be officially dissolved until next September.The city has written a letter to the commission terminating the accessible taxi program agreement on the basis that it “has materially and continually breached the terms of agreements and has failed to demonstrate financial stability,” Hurdle’s report states.Kingston will continue to pay for the program on an interim basis, but Hurdle warns “significant changes” are required for it to continue.She suggests only trips within Kingston and Loyalist Township should be eligible for the $3.50 fare, and that the volume of trips be limited, with the exact figure to be based on what fee revenues can sustain.The CAO also recommended those currently signed up for the program be reassessed by the same criteria currently used for the Kingston Access Bus, the city’s other accessible transportation service.City council will discuss taking over the program on Nov. 18.ABOUT THE AUTHORDan Taekema is CBC’s reporter covering Kingston, Ont. and the surrounding area. He’s worked in newsrooms in Chatham, Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa. You can reach him by emailing daniel.taekema@cbc.ca.Follow @DanTaekema on Twitter
Kingston mulls takeover of troubled accessible taxi program
