The CEO of Hamilton Cab says his fleet's accessible cab program is in danger of dying "in a year or so" unless fees from either city subsidies or customers increase for the use of larger vehicles.

Jagtar Singh Chahal told city council's planning committee on Tuesday that drivers are parking their accessible cabs — which are often vans and more expensive for drivers to purchase — in favour of standard taxis to save on expenses.

He also said the overall number of taxis in the city has dropped to 280, down from 469 in January 2020, thanks to ballooning insurance costs that are pushing drivers out of the business.

Hamilton Cab is one of two main taxi companies in the city, alongside Blue Line Taxi.

Chahal, who was joined by several Hamilton Cab drivers at the meeting, is asking for a $1 increase to the base rate taxis can charge per ride, as well as an increase to the subsidy collected by operators of accessible taxis and vans from the city.

They'd like the meter to start at $4.90, instead of the current $3.90 base rate, and would like the city to increase the subsidy it pays for accessible taxis from $5 to $10 per ride, which Chahal says is comparable to what ride-sharing services such as Uber charge for vans. He also said he'd like to increase the surcharge for use of taxi vans, for those rides that do not qualify for the city subsidy.

Chahal says the city stopped paying out the subsidy between March 2020 and around October 2021, and hasn't paid drivers back for the missed income.

The city confirmed to CBC Hamilton that it pays drivers $5 for each accessible taxi trip but that the program was paused in March 2020 "due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic." Payments resumed in August, 2021, it said, but did not elaborate on why there was a pause, its length of time or about repayments.

"Things are very desperate," Chahal said, saying the recent closure of Burlington Taxi could be a harbinger for much of the industry.

"[The cost of] everything has gone up: car repairs, licence fees, and to buy new cars. There are hardly any new drivers coming to our taxi industry. There are drivers leaving this industry every month and if we do not take any action now, we will have no drivers to drive cabs in a few years," he said.

A major concern in the industry is the cost of insurance, which has ballooned in recent years, and now costs between $14,000-$18,000 annually, Chahal says.

"We have a lot of seniors, low-income people, disability community, school children, working people and women who totally depend upon us," he said. "If the taxi industry stops, our city will stop. We are a very important part of our city's economy."

Ward 10 Coun. Maria Pearson said the lack of vans and accessible taxis is an issue she hears about "daily" from her constituents.

"People are waiting… for over an hour, sometimes two or three hours, to get a driver to take them to their destination because of the lack of plates on the road," she told the committee, before putting forward a motion – which passed – directing staff to report back on Chahal's requests.

Hamiltonian Sarah Jama, who uses various mobility aids, says by not providing sufficient financial support, the city has gutted a service many disabled people rely on.

She frequently uses accessible cabs for transportation, and says some drivers told her that after the city stopped paying out the subsidy, they started considering switching to a more affordable vehicle.

Jama says the lack of support and appropriate subsidy to keep accessible cabs on the road adds stress to her life — it means that if she goes out, she doesn't know if she will be stranded or when she will be able to get home.

"We need a way to get around spontaneously, especially in case of an emergency," she said Tuesday, noting rides on the city's accessible transportation service DARTS must be booked days in advance, have bag restrictions and often long waits.

"DARTS has… many issues. It doesn't allow disabled people to live free and equally," she said.

With COVID concerns, being in a DARTS vehicle with multiple other riders is also less attractive and safe, she notes, saying standard taxi vehicles aren't an option for people without a folding device, and many drivers don't want to take riders who use such devices. She recalls one night when she needed a ride home from a hospital, but there were no accessible cabs on the road at all.

She also tends to face more scrutiny from drivers of non-accessible vehicles, she added.

"The regular cab driver refused to take me because he said my [walker's] wheels were dirty," she said. "There's way more stigma if you have an accessible device."