Montreal airport has an illegal taxi problem, according to its regulatory authority, which calls for a crackdown.
Since January, nearly 400 tickets for offenses related to vehicles traveling without a license have been issued, according to Aéroports de Montréal (ADM).
“Sometimes we see taxis with fake Uber stickers on their cars, or even we’ve seen cars with fake taxi domes,” airport authority spokeswoman Anne-Sophie Hamel said.
Other incidents involve legitimate taxis that do not have airport operating permits, says Ms. Hamel, or imposters.
Inflated prices, aggressive solicitation and even threats are some of the concerns.
“What we see and what we hear from passengers is that they show up and take their luggage without even asking,” said Ms. Hamel.
These drivers tend to target international arrivals, where travelers may be less familiar with the airport and local taxi protocols, she points out.
“Once they were on the Metropolitan highway, the driver told them that they had to pay $150 immediately, otherwise they would be abandoned on the highway,” explains Ms. Hamel.
“It is very, very worrying for us. »
Illegal taxis aren’t as big of a problem at Canada’s other three largest airports — Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary — they said by email. Peel Regional Police, which patrol Toronto’s Pearson airport, said they received four calls in the first three months of the year about ‘scoopers’ – taxi drivers or drivers looking to pick up passengers at the airport.
A legal change causing the problem
The problem in Quebec stems from legal changes in 2019. The law brought ride-hailing services like Uber into the province’s regulatory framework while abolishing its costly taxi licensing system and lifting a ban on soliciting customers.
The law came into effect in October 2020, but the consequences have only recently become apparent as the travel industry has begun to rebound after the lifting of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The problem persists in part due to the powers of the airport authority and a difference of opinion over which taxis are considered illegal under the new rules, Ms Hamel said.
In cases where unauthorized taxi drivers are suspected, the rules restrict ADM’s deterrents to issuing tickets for incidents like illegal parking or unattended cars.
“As there has been a change in the regulations, it is not prohibited to solicit, so our security patrol team cannot intervene. The only one that can intervene at the moment is Quebec Road Control, which is a subdivision of the SAAQ,” the province’s crown corporation responsible for driver’s licenses, Ms. Hamel said.
“And there’s not much they can do since they have to witness the transaction,” she said. “They’re not present at the airport 24/7, but the airport is a 24/7 place…with 500,000 taxi rides a year. »
Quebec Highway Control (CRQ) responded to this explanation by saying that it does not need to see the money change hands before intervening.
“We can intervene when a person offers a service without having the required authorizations,” CRQ spokesperson Gino Desrosiers said in an email.
ADM asks Quebec to intervene
However, the CRQ considers a licensed taxi or Uber driver to be legal and can pick up customers at the airport, whether they have an airport permit or are “soliciting” passengers inside the airport. ‘terminal.
“According to our discussions with ADM representatives, the insistent solicitation of certain drivers — considered illegal by ADM, but not necessarily by CRQ — is the main element to be addressed,” indicated Mr. Desrosiers.
In other words, Montrealers authorized as taxi or carpool drivers, but without a license from the airport authority, will not contravene the rules, in the eyes of Control Road Quebec, despite ADM’s concerns.
The airport authority has asked the province to crack down on what it considers illegal taxis.
In a tweet on March 23, Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault said the situation at Montreal airport was “concerning”.
To obtain an operating permit at Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau International Airport, applicants must meet various criteria, including having sufficient space in the trunk for luggage, performing mechanical checks and a check of criminal history.
“You can understand a passenger coming in from a 10 hour flight, who is tired, and someone saying, ‘Oh, I can take you home for $25,’ that can be a great offer, but the security is not there,” warns the ADM spokesperson.
For now, Ms. Hamel advises travelers to go to the designated area for taxis on the arrivals level or, if they use a ride-hailing service like Uber, to make sure they go to the designated area at the departures level and boarding the car selected by the app.