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It seems that after many months of investigation on how the TTC Wheel-Trans contract was issues, how it is operating today, politicians who approved the contract and the value they brought to the city is still in the Toronto Auditor General's hands. The timeframe is approaching for the information for these matters’s to be revealed.
It seems there must have been reasons for the Toronto Auditor General to want to investigate the TTC Wheel-Trans contract, as the city has issued a contract that totals $35 million dollars over 5 years, with expected wheelchair accessible taxi's to total 150 throughout Toronto doing this service directly. This is not the case, and many people seem to be misinformed on the actual number of vehicles servicing the contract. To make matters worse, taxi brokers such as Royal Taxi, Co-Op Taxi and Scarborough City Taxi are using vehicles that are not all wheelchair taxi's and do not meet the criteria set out in the original contract. Is there something going on behind doors between the TTC Wheel-Trans with these brokers. Is this contract that costs taxpayers millions of dollars being utilized properly?
An expectation of what is to come is only in the hands of Toronto's Auditor General. The belief is that there is not much investigation that has to be done to see flaws in the services (as per the contract), the manner in which the contracts were awarded, and how taxpayers are hung with a bill for services that are not even being provided by the brokers since the capacity of wheelchair accessible vehicles cannot be met.
To make matters worse, one councillor (Glenn De Baeremaeker) who sat on the TTC board had an executive assistant who was one of the daughters of the proponent (Scarborough City Taxi) who won a portion of the contract. To make matters worse. Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker was alleged to have created a conflict of interest when he voted against a fairness committee to oversee the awarding of the contract.After this, Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker sat back and did not participate in the remaining meetings that pertained to the awarding of the contract. Was there something happening behind closed doors? Why was this allowed, even though it was brought forward before the awarding of the contract?
It is with appreciation that there are some councillors (Councillor Denzil Minan-Wong and Councillor Ford) that have taken the initiative to investigate these matters as well. In fact, these councillors have gone as far as cracking down on brokers and the TTC Wheel-Trans organization on the mishandling of vehicles and drivers who do not meet the criteria to provide services to the contract issues by the TTC Wheel-Trans. If you can the contract, you should not be able to have it.
Let's see what will come of this hypocrisy in Toronto.