■ Addition
of new taxi licence class,
conversion of taxi and limo licences
to new VfH class, retroactive fees
and refunds, licence qualifications,
vehicle inspection, electronic
meter apps, elimination of city-
run taxi training requirements, to
name a few.
Innovative Features of
This Project
A new entirely automated process
to receive a PTC data file, validate
internally and with partners such as
the Ministry of Transportation ARIS
web service, and return a licence to
the PTC, including a “request” and
“response” process between the PTCs
and the City to cover a variety of types of
licence maintenance transactions was
established. This required partnership
with various divisions within the City
and with PTC IT resources in Toronto
and San Francisco.
A new pre-payment process was
established to enable immediate
issuance of qualified driver’s licences.
A new SAP Business Intelligence
service was built to receive trip data,
identify locations through automated
GIS data conversion and provide data
to Transportation Division for traffic
pattern analysis.
This successful shift to digital
processing and its cultural acceptance
is a major step forward to support
the modernization of other business
processes for the Municipal Licensing
& Standards division.
Nearly 40,000 PTC driver’s licences
were processed and issued in the first
six months; 98.07 per cent of submitted
applications were processed and issued
immediately, generating over $600,000
revenue in the first six months
Fifteen thousand in-person vehicle
inspections were eliminated and
replaced by submission of Safety
Standards Certificates issued by
provincially approved mechanics.
Collection of 11.4 million PTC trip data
records assisted in the City’s analysis of
traffic flow and congestion.
The City is working to complete
performance reporting in the SAP-
based Datamart solution to activity-
monitor and measure results on a daily,
weekly, monthly and annual basis, as
well as to utilize this tool for compliance
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risk-assessment evaluation of trips and
licence-related information.
Tangible Benefits
For the Municipality
The City has saved or avoided
approximately $3.4M in ongoing costs
due to reduction of manual business
licensing processes, elimination of city-
run vehicle inspections, and elimination
of taxi and limo training.
The return on investment is at
this time calculated at 4.76 per cent,
benefits realized within six months.
Over $3.5M has been collected for
trip fees over a six-month period.
Over $600,000 has been collected for
licence fees.
Automated processing has enabled
over 98 per cent of PTC licences to
be issued the same day. Processing is
reduced from approximately 1.5 hours
(or more) to less than 60 seconds per
application.
The ability to gather and analyze
large volumes of data is enabling ML&S
to take a risk-based, strategic and
intelligence-driven approach to bylaw
compliance and enforcement. Further,
the collection of data will enable the
City to analyze impacts and trends to
inform transportation planning across
multiple modes.
For the Public
Citizens benefit through timely
validation and licensing of drivers and
enhanced enforcement capabilities, and
establishment of improved processes
which can be extended to more licence
types. Consumers are able to choose
between a variety of licensed services
with confidence and based on their
needs. This has demonstrated the
City’s willingness to positively respond
to disruptive technologies – especially
those related to the sharing economy,
and the City’s ability to adapt our
culture to transform and meet the
evolving and changing demands of
citizens while striking a balance on
regulation and safety. This results in
increased consumer confidence in the
City’s services.
For Industry
Productivity improvements to the PTCs
ensure that consumer confidence in the
services is increased due to enhanced
awareness of the safety features of
licensing, while ensuring complaint
and feedback processes are in place
and considered. VfH (taxi/limo) have
received benefits through the reduction
in time and burden to receive licences
as well, while maintaining safety
requirements.
Systems are highly reliable, ensuring
that service interruptions are rare and
approximately 230 to 250 new licence
applications, renewals and account
updates are processed on a daily basis
with 100 per cent daily response rate to
PTCs. This results in drivers obtaining
licences to operate within one day of
application submission to ML&S.
Applicability For Other
Municipalities
All municipalities have the authority to
review and reframe their regulatory role
within any industry, and are empowered
to undertake comprehensive business
process reform. The technology
solutions utilized to facilitate this
initiative are available through
commercial software providers.
All municipalities will benefit through
efficiencies in modernized business
processes, utilization of technology to
facilitate information/data exchange,
and the enduring opportunities and
benefits afforded through updated and
relevant legislation.