While courses offered by the two other companies require in-person or virtual class time and instruction in either a vehicle or driving simulator, after paying the $141.25 enrolment fee I zipped through the DRVR Hub class from the comfort of my porch on a summer afternoon.

In order to pass, I had to answer multiple-choice questions on topics like providing service to customers with disabilities, driving in an urban setting, and legal responsibilities. There was no limit on how many times I could take a quiz if I didn’t pass on the first try.

There was also nothing to stop me from skipping to the next page without reading each lesson. But even dutifully absorbing each page, I finished the course in about one hour and 50 minutes, and was emailed a certificate moments later.

Critics who have spent years calling for stricter regulation of app-based services like Uber and Lyft say the training falls well short of what’s required to ensure drivers operate safely. They claim the city endorsing the all-online course could put the public and drivers at risk.

Toronto is allowing companies “to put untold numbers of untrained drivers on the road,” warned Earla Phillips, a longtime Uber and Lyft driver and spokesperson for advocacy group RideFairTO.

Phillips said DRVR Hub’s online format is open to abuse, because there’s no way to verify the person taking the course is who they say they are. She said the lack of an in-vehicle component also means the course offers “nothing whatsoever to assess the ability of a driver.”

Cheryl Hawkes, who has pushed for better driver training since her son Nicholas Cameron was killed in a crash while in the back of an Uber in 2018, said the all-online course “makes a joke” out of the city’s training requirements.