Taxi fares have been more expensive since last Monday, September 12. Didn’t you notice? It is that drivers do not yet apply this increase, for technical reasons. Some are also very afraid that this will become an additional obstacle for their customers who also live with a budget under pressure.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
In taxi stands in the metropolis on Friday, under a magnificent sun, the speech was unanimous: the price increases are a good thing for the drivers, but will the customers follow, she who is already becoming rarer since the start of the pandemic?
“It’s true that drivers are afraid that customers will react negatively,” confirms Frédéric Prégent, president and CEO of Taxelco, which brings together six groups of Quebec taxis, including Taxi Diamond and Taxi Hochelaga, well known in Montreal. “But I think people are very aware that everything is increasing,” he continues. They understand the situation. »
The situation being that this increase comes to compensate for the rising operating costs for drivers in a context where these last pandemic years have severely shaken the industry.
It was the Commission des transports du Québec (CTQ) which established in June 2022 that taxi fares would cost around 18% more. Concretely, the taximeter will start the race at $4.10 if you are traveling during the day, rather than $3.50.
Each kilometer traveled will also be more expensive. New night fares have also been added, so if you are traveling between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., this is an additional 15% off the new base fares.
One month for update
Drivers must replace or adapt their taximeter, at their own expense, to apply the new fares. Many have not yet done so, due to lack of time or the availability of the few service providers. This leaves a grace period for users.
Friday afternoon, the crowd around Gingras Taximètre, in the Rosemont district, confirmed the importance of the demand. Considerate, the owner of this company, Lise Roy, hired flagmen to ensure that there is no congestion in the streets of the neighborhood for the first two weeks following the start of the rate change. Its employees also left letters in the mailboxes of residents of neighboring streets to inform them of unusual traffic.
The precaution was not in vain: if there were crowds all week, Monday, passers-by thought they were dealing with a real demonstration of the industry as there were cars waiting.
Drivers have one month, so until October 12, to comply with the new fee schedule and have their equipment adjusted.
Online for his taximeter to be changed, Friday afternoon, Jean-Wilfrid Osselyn shared the fear of his colleagues: “We do not know how the customers will react, asked the driver. Will she turn to Uber? »
Because Uber drivers, unlike traditional taxis, are not required to raise the price of their trip when they use dynamic pricing, which is not determined by the CTQ. “But some drivers who work for Uber can also do ‘traditional taxi’ if they have an automobile with a taximeter, and in the case of a taximeter ride, then they have to respect the rates of the Commission”, explains Joanne St-Laurent, research officer at the CTQ.
In fact, on Friday, customers waiting at Gingras Taximeter railed more against the imposition of the $1.07 fee (taxes included) determined by the Ministry of Transport for the compensation program for taxi owners.
These additional fees have been in effect since last year and it also increases the bill that customers have to pay. Drivers waiting for their new taximeters confided that they would have liked this fee to disappear in order to make the final bill more digestible for their passengers.
For the CEO of Taxelco, Frédéric Prégent, the current increases are positive and could be an incentive for the many drivers who left the profession during the pandemic. Taxelco lost a third of its workforce. “At the start of the pandemic, we told our drivers aged 60 or over to stay at home,” explains Mr. Prégent. Many who were in early retirement have decided to retire permanently. »
The drop in clientele has not favored the retention of drivers. “Even to date, regrets Mr. Prégent, the volume has not returned to the city center. »