After the “illegal taxis” at the airport, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) is attacking the “illegal transporters” reigning everywhere on the island of Montreal.
Dozens of road controllers will crisscross the streets of the metropolis from Friday to Sunday in order to crack down on these drivers not authorized to drive for pay, in the middle of the weekend of the Grand Prix of Canada in Montreal.
“We will have between 30 and 35 agents who will work either day, evening or night. We really aim to target what we call illegal transporters, therefore drivers who do not comply with the regulations of the taxi industry, nor with those of mobile applications like Uber or Eva, ”says Jonathan Beauvais, Lieutenant – provincial communications coordinator at Contrôle route Québec.
This agency, which is under the responsibility of the SAAQ, carries out this type of operation from time to time in several cities, but in Montreal, it was until very recently the Bureau du taxi – dismantled in December – which was in charge of it.
According to Mr. Beauvais, it remains difficult to establish with precision the number of “illegal carriers” on the island of Montreal and elsewhere. “That said, we know that some come back often, while for others, it happens more randomly at different times,” he slips.
A phenomenon on the rise
In March, The Press revealed that the phenomenon of “illegal taxis” is growing at Montréal-Trudeau airport. Nearly 400 offenses have been listed at Montreal-Trudeau airport since January, and this, only for the presence of these “illegal taxis”, whose drivers are sometimes harassing, or even seek to defraud the user by increasing the price arbitrarily. In 2022, 660 such events had been reported.
Quebec has since tightened the screw. At the beginning of June, the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, announced the establishment of fines of up to $50,000 which will henceforth be given to unauthorized drivers. Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), for its part, will keep a “register of authorizations issued” and increase the number of inspectors.
This time, the operation will be mainly concentrated on the Montreal road network. “We are really going to be more present on the island of Montreal, but operations at the airport, there continues to be a lot as well. Our agents are present almost every day to try to counter this phenomenon. We intervene when we are able to do so”, mentions Mr. Beauvais.
The surveillance blitz from Contrôleroute Québec occurs when the Grand Prix du Canada will be held, from Thursday to Sunday. Strong congestion is to be expected on several axes, particularly the Jacques-Cartier and Samuel-De Champlain bridges, Mobility Montreal reiterated on Thursday. Around 400 taxis and 120 special shuttles will run “continuously” over the weekend.
Montreal also invited residents earlier this week to give priority to public transit, while Quebec will not authorize “any hindrance” on several strategic axes such as Highway 15, between Mirabel and Boulevard Gaétan-Laberge, the Bonaventure, the Highway 20 corridor between the airport, Route 136 and Notre-Dame Street to Dickson Street.