Toronto

Toronto

Overview

Toronto is the largest taxi market in North America in which taxi cameras are mandated in 100% of the taxis.  It is also the safest based on statistics provided by Toronto Police Services. 


The Challenge

Toronto, as with most other large North American cities in the 1990's, had struggled with increased incidents of taxi crime.  By 1999, the problem had become so serious that Council was forced to take action.

 


The Solution

Taxi cameras were chosen by Toronto Council and the taxi industry as the preferred safety device - both in terms of their effectiveness and because they were less invasive than other options.  Within 12 months of their introduction, cameras had been credited with reducing the number of incidents of taxi crime by more than 75%. In 2006, Toronto introduced a new camera specification and became the second North American city (after Portland, Oregon) to mandate the new higher resolution “dual camera” technology. Today, it is estimated that, adjusted for the growth in the number of taxis, there are 85% fewer incidents than there were in 1999, before the introduction of cameras.  

Download PDF