Taxi drivers called on the province Monday to cancel agreements to allow the ride-sharing application Uber to transport people to and from the airports of Quebec’s two main cities.
Uber announced Monday it can now pick up and drop off customers at both Trudeau international airport in Dorval, and the Jean-Lesage airport in Quebec City.
The Taxi Common Front, which represents both taxi drivers and the owners of cab companies, said the agreements fly in the face of new rules adopted by the province to regulate the industry.
Beginning in mid-October, Quebec’s Commission des transports granted Uber a temporary license to operate in the province as part of a private project to last at least one year. Taxi representatives say the government’s pilot project leaves the airports as exclusive terrain of cabs.
“The rules are clear: only certain drivers are permitted to have access to the airport, and (Uber) is not permitted to reach agreements with other government organizations,” representatives Guy Chevrette and Benoit Jugand said in a statement.
Airports in the country are operated by non-profit, private organizations, so they are not considered to be part of any government department. Trudeau airport had previously barred Uber drivers from its premises on the ground that the service wasn’t yet regulated by the provincial government.
About 8,000 people tried to call an Uber driver from the Trudeau airport last month, according to data provided by the company’s engineers. The ride-share has agreements with 50 airports across North America. In Montreal, dropoff spaces at the airport are still exclusively reserved for taxi drivers.
In an email sent to Uber users Monday morning, the company said it would drop off travellers at the gate of their choice. Uber will charge a $3 fee for any airport dropoff. Uber pickups will be made at Door 6, on the departures level of the airport.
Uber included a fare estimate, indicating it would cost between $30 and $33 to get downtown from the airport, or between $35 and $38 to get to Plateau-Mont-Royal.
Taxi drivers say they’re incensed that the airport is allowing Uber to serve passengers, when there is an exclusive lottery system in place for taxi drivers. More than 4,000 taxi drivers applied for the 325 spots, and they must pay $4,000 for the privilege of picking up passengers at the terminal.
“I have been applying to work at the airport for the past 15 years with no luck,” said Hassan Kattoua, a longtime taxi driver. “Now, anyone can work at the airport (if they drive for Uber). Everybody is upset about this. The ADM is stabbing these people in the back.”
Serge Thevenin, an independent taxi driver, said he is suffering financially because of Uber.
“Montreal already has too many taxi drivers,” Thevenin said, as he drove by the Intercontinental Hotel downtown and pointed at the cabs waiting at the stand. “You see: there’s 20 cabs waiting here. Uber has broken the business. We’re starving, and we’re very angry with the government.”
The Taxi Common Front called on Transport Minister Laurent Lessard to “act urgently” and cancel the agreements with the airports.
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