Notice of EOI for Accessible Taxi Cab Grant/Marketing Agreements

The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury Council has approved a one-time grant for taxicab companies licensed in Bradford West Gwillimbury to off-set the initial cost of purchasing or retrofitting an on-demand wheelchair accessible taxicab, as well as online advertising.

In addition to the monetary grant, Council also approved a stand-alone Accessible Taxicab Marketing Agreement. The two options are described below.

Option 1: Accessible Taxicab Conversion Grant and Marketing Agreement

a. To assist in retrofitting a taxicab to be wheelchair-accessible with rear entry access. Alternatively, the granted funds may go towards purchasing a new or used wheelchair accessible van taxicab with a remaining lifespan of a minimum of 5 years.

b. A one-time grant of $38,000 may be awarded to a successful applicant(s). The recipients shall report monthly performance metrics including, but not limited to, trip duration, customer ratings, number of trips per day, vehicle downtime and maintenance costs.

c. The accessible vehicle will be required to remain operational for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for a minimum of 5 years.

d. In the event that the grant agreement is terminated prior to the expiry of its term, for reasons such as not demonstrating satisfactory performance or financial accountability, the successful party would be required to repay some or all of the granted funds in adherence to the Town’s determined agreement provisions as set-forth by staff.

e. To aid in creating community awareness of “accessible taxicabs”, an element of marketing between the broker and the Town of BWG will be included. Upon completion of the vehicle retrofitting, or purchase of a new wheelchair accessible van taxicab, the successful applicant will receive Town endorsement as being an “accessible taxicab” provider through the following activities:

• a joint media release (between the Town and Applicant) announcing the accessible taxicab
• a new article published on the news page of the Town's website, as well as on the Town Info page of BradfordToday.ca
• a post on the Town’s social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, and X)
• a photo banner on the Town’s homepage (active for a one week period), linking to webpage containing more information on the accessible taxicab.

f. Throughout the 5-year agreement period, the successful brokers will receive online advertising through the Town’s website on a page dedicated to “accessible taxicabs”. Additionally, the successful broker would receive marketing support on BWG social media feeds (at a minimum of four times a year) and twice a year featured on the scrolling header of the Town’s home page for a minimum of a week each time.

g. There will be an agreement extension period permitted on the marketing service aspect only. The broker shall maintain their on-demand accessible taxicab services and performance metric tracking while the Town continues to digitally promote its services.

Option 2: Accessible Taxicab Marketing Agreement

a. The purpose of this agreement will be to assist in creating community awareness of accessible “on-demand” taxicab services.

b. This agreement will be classified as an in-kind marketing service agreement; whereas, there will be no exchange of monetary funds, however, will still receive the same element of marketing support as listed above in 2(e) and (f), once proof of an accessible taxicab van license is provided.

c. The awarded broker will have expectations to report the same monthly performance metrics as listed above in 1(b) and to provide their accessible taxicab services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 5 years.

d. The same agreement extension period as listed in 1(g) will be permitted.

Parties may express interest in either Option 1, Option 2, or both. If multiple expressions of interest are received, Council will review and evaluate the responses to determine who is selected to receive the grant. Council reserves the right to split the grant to more than one recipient.

The successful recipient(s) will be required to sign an agreement to operate accessible taxicabs within their fleet for a minimum of 5 years exclusively in Bradford West Gwillimbury. Extensions to the marketing provisions for both agreements may be available.

Those eligible are requested to express interest by applying in writing to accessibility@townofbwg.com no later than Friday, June 14, 2024 by 4:30 pm.