What is the duty owed by a public carrier to a passenger?

There has been considerable judicial consideration of the issue of the duty owed by a public carrier to its passengers. The leading authority is Day v. Toronto Transportation Commission et al., 1940 CanLII 7 (SCC), [1940] S.C.R. 433. In restoring the verdict of the jury at trial Davis J. said: The duty of the respondent to the appellant, its passenger, was to carry her safely as far as reasonable care and forethought could attain that end. (at p. 439)

In a concurring judgment, Hudson J. had this to say about the responsibility of a carrier to its passengers: Although the carrier of passengers is not an insurer, yet if an accident occurs and the passenger is injured, there is a heavy burden on the defendants' carrier to establish that he had used all due, proper and reasonable care and skill to avoid or prevent injury to the passenger. The care required is of a very high degree: 4 Hals., p. 60, paras. 92 and 95. In an old case of Jackson v. Tollett (1), the rule was stated by Lord Ellenborough at p. 38 as follows: Every person who contracts for the conveyance of others, is bound to use the utmost care and skill, and if, through any erroneous judgment on his part, any mischief is occasioned, he must answer for the consequences. (at p. 441)