Vehicle, driver’s licence fees up again
Brace for more hikes this fall as Ontario quietly raises prices to cover road maintenance
Ontario motorists who’ve dropped by their local Service Ontario location to renew their drivers licence or plate sticker after Sept. 1 may have been surprised to learn that the annual fees have increased substantially from last year.
While most of us have been preoccupied with the introduction of stiffer penalties for distracted driving and other misdemeanours this week, the Ministry of Transportation quietly slid in a new fee structure.
Be prepared, because more increases are due to arrive on Nov. 1.
The existing fee for Passenger Vehicle Licence Validation has been increased by 10 per cent from $98 to $108 for vehicles registered in southern Ontario. For those up north, the sticker price rises from $49 to $54.
These increases are the same for commercial vehicles. The price of new driver’s licences and renewals rises from $80 to $81.50.
The increases are said to be in response to the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services “to cover the rising costs of maintaining provincial roads, bridges and highways, enhance cost recovery for the delivery of driver and vehicle licensing services, and to support quality public services Ontarians rely on every day” according to an MTO press release.
The November hike will see driver’s licence replacement go up from $25 to $28, as will Driver Instructor Licence Replacement and Oversize/ Overweight Permit Replacement. Auto sales continue to soar despite recession As the Canadian market as a whole has dipped into a recession, there are no signs of a slowdown in new- car sales. August light vehicle sales grew by 2.2 per cent over the same month last year to 175,512.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles continue to lead the way with a modest 0.4-per-cent increase to 26,928 units ahead of Ford, who dropped 5 per cent to 26,579. General Motors is the last of the top three with an 11.5-per-cent bump to 24,653 vehicles.
Passenger car sales continue to contract, down 8.9 per cent to 64,622 units while light truck sales remain the segment of choice for consumers. Light trucks were up 10 per cent to 110,890 for a year-to-date increase of 7.5 per cent and 60.9per-cent market share.
Ford’s F-150 line of pickup trucks continues to be the most popular vehicle despite losing ground over last year. August sales of the truck dropped to 11,206 from 12,521 last year. In comparison, FCA sold 6,982 Ram Pickups to take second spot on the light truck market and 6,711 Honda Civics left the lot to make it the most popular passenger car.
Interestingly, the third place GMC Sierra and second place Hyundai Elantra continued to come on strong with 17.7 per cent and 20.4per-cent increases, respectively. Hit Canadian TV show Highway Thru Hell is back Reality show Highway Thru Hell follows the crew of Jamie Davis Towing as they tackle dangerous highway rescues in the mountains of British Columbia and Alberta.
It is Discovery Canada’s No. 1 show and is seen by viewers in 170 countries. In the Season 4 opener, which debuts Sept. 8, we are introduced to the newest machine in the fleet, a “rotator” truck that was custom built for mountain rescue at a cost of $739,000. The massive machine has a 270 gallon water tank and foam system to fight fires.
The remote nature of the roads Davis’ team works on means that often his staff are the first responders. With Season 5 already in pro- duction, Davis promises an exciting kickoff to this season, with lots of surprises throughout the 13 episodes. Final IndyCar race sets viewership mark The hunt for TV viewers is the Holy Grail for sports marketers and in recent years auto racing, IndyCar in particular, has had its challenges in North America.
A report by Sports Media Watch shows that viewers tuned in to the NBC Sports Network (Sportsnet in Canada) broadcast of the season finale at Sonoma in record numbers last Sunday.
More than 840,000 viewers watched the race on the tube, which shatters the series previous record of 666,000 viewers for the tapedelayed Mid-Ohio race from earlier this season. Freelance writer Gary Grant is a regular contributor to Toronto Star Wheels. To reach him, email wheels@thestar.ca and put his name in the subject line.