Thursday, July 14, 2011 Accessible Taxis Would Serve a Growing Market
 Motion Group of Companies, the Canadian distributor of the MV-1, hopes Toronto's Licensing and Standards Committee assesses the benefits of accessibility in choosing a standard taxicab for Toronto's streets.
The Taxi of Tomorrow contest being proposed by Toronto Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong is inspired by New York City's two-year-long Taxi of Tomorrow campaign. That contest was created to leverage the purchasing power of the taxicab industry to manufacture a safe, environmentally sustainable and comfortable cab for NYC passengers and drivers.
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. was awarded the 10-year contract to build the NV200 minivan. The announcement of this vehicle in May 2011 was met with a lawsuit against NYC's Taxi and Limousine Commission by Disability Rights Advocates incensed that other vehicles designed with wheelchair access, including the MV-1, were rejected in favor of a van that requires an expensive conversion to make it accessible.
"The city of Toronto has a moral and economic responsibility to require that the standard taxi is wheelchair accessible", says Nick Grande, CEO of Motion Group of Companies. "Many of Toronto's subway stations lack elevators and the City's Wheel Trans program is expensive to operate, often carrying fewer wheelchair passengers than its capacity. Choosing a fully accessible taxi, like London's black cabs, would improve public service and relieve the burden on the city's Para transit program which will only increase with our aging population".
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