10 taxi and ride sharing companies in Toronto

Ride sharing has taken Toronto by storm in recent years, and it's only getting more popular. Between Uber and Beck and everyone in between, there's no shortage of ways to get around the city.

Here's a round-up of some of the most notable ride sharing and taxi companies in Toronto.

Taxi

Beck

This company's orange and green cars are a fixture around the city. It boasts one of the biggest fleets - over 2,000 cars - so ordering via their app or flagging one down on the street is almost never a problem. 

Diamond

This company has been around for around 70 years, making it one of the oldest fleets in the city. They're similar to Beck and offer advanced booking, prepared vouchers and ordering though their app.

Royal

Another Toronto fixture, this company specializes in its chauffeur-like accommodations, like airport runs, corporate accounts, and has vehicles to meet accessibility needs.

Co-op Cabs

When this taxi company acquired Crown Taxi it became the second largest taxi fleet in the city. It's unique in that it offers drivers a shareholder/owner option.

Flash Taxi

This Richmond Hill-based company offers transportation services for customers all over the GTA. They've increased their presence downtown in recent months. 

Scarborough City Cab

This cab company works on behalf of Wheel-Trans and specializes in accessible travel options with drivers that are trained to assist those who need a bit of extra help.

Ride Sharing

Uber

The hugely popular cashless Uber app lets you order a car right to your door and watch on the map as it arrives. You can choose between a range of vehicle options that each vary in price but remain a fixed rate for each ride. Just beware of surge pricing.

Facedrive

This Canadian startup aims to pay its drivers better than Uber and offer them the opportunity to be a part of a cooperative business structure. They have a small number of cars on the road so wait times can be slow.

Taxify

This European car sharing company  has a sleek and simple app design and is basically a no frills alternative to Uber.

Lyft

Left isn't in Toronto just yet but its the competition to Uber we've been waiting for. It offers similar features like cost splitting and advanced booking. Perhaps the biggest difference is Lyft uses identifying markers ('amps') for their cars. Launch is sometime this December.

by Lisa Power via blogTO