“MIND-BOGGLING”: Beck cabbie fined $700, out of work after photo issue

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A Toronto cab driver is slamming a $700 fine he was slapped with after officials from municipal licensing and standards pulled him over for allegedly driving with an expired taxi license.

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“I’m not a criminal. I have been doing this for over 33 years. Every five years I’ve been paying, sending all my documents and everything,” said Shahwali Raswoli, a Beck cabbie and his family’s sole breadwinner.

Raswoli said his was pulled over March 2, fined, and told his taxi license was suspended.

He claims he spent seven months trying to submit his usual documents to city hall, including a photo, to renew his license.

During the pandemic, submitting in person — as Raswoli did for decades — was no longer an option.

But I found it difficult navigating technology to submit electronically.

“Because of my picture, they canceled my license,” he said. “They never sent me (a) letter or anything. And they stopped me and gave me a $700 ticket for my license being cancelled.”

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Beck Taxi is furious.

“It’s mind-boggling,” Beck Taxi’s director of operations Kristine Hubbard said, adding how Raswoli found out about his suspension was shocking.

“They surround him as he is dropping off a passenger, put him out of work because the system doesn’t show that you have renewed your vehicle-for-hire license, and hand him a $700 ticket.”

Hubbard said the city should have made it easier for cabbies — especially those unfamiliar with technology — to renew taxi licenses during the pandemic.

“Maybe it’s the English language, maybe its computer literacy — but because they’re not literate in these things, the City of Toronto is literally taking away their right to work.”

She said other cabbies face the same challenge.

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Municipal licensing and standards did not comment on the specifics of the case.

In a statement, it said in part: “We recognize that the pivot from a face-to-face operation to a complete online service may have been a big change for many, but at the time it helped reduce the spread of COVID-19. among city staff and residents.”

“If a client is experiencing issues with the online portal, they can mail in their payments and outstanding requirements or use the drop box at 850 Coxwell Ave.,” the department said.

Raswoli just wants to get back on the road.

“I am so broke and I have a lot of issues,” he said. “I don’t have a choice because of my kids and my family. I don’t have another income.”

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