Taxi drivers seek to shut down Uber
Drivers want permanent injunction against U.S.-based ride-sharing firm
A convoy of about 20 taxis arrived at the city’s courthouse Tuesday morning seeking a permanent injunction against the company Uber.
Taxi drivers say the San Francisco-based company engages in illegal competition. Uber argues it’s not a taxi company, saying it offers a legal ride-sharing service with its UberX product, which allows people to get paid by giving lifts to others using their personal cars.
“Ride sharing is very specific in Quebec law, and it’s: if I’m going to Quebec City, and I take someone with me and they pay for gas,” said Benoît Jugand, a spokesperson for Regroupement des travailleurs autonomies métallos, which represents roughly half of Montreal’s 10,000 taxi drivers. “With Uber, it’s a customer who is telling the driver where to go — that’s not ride sharing.”
The injunction request filed in Quebec Superior Court asks a judge to rule that Uber is a taxi company, and to order it to cease operations in the province since its drivers do not hold valid taxi licences. Taxi drivers must buy or rent licences, which fetch up to $200,000 on the secondary market. They say that puts them at a disadvantage against Uber because they have more upfront costs.
The city of Toronto recently tried but failed to get an injunction issued against Uber. In a judgment last year, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that Uber doesn’t assign rides to drivers, and so it doesn’t meet the definition of a taxi company. The court ruled Uber is a software networking tool that helps drivers and passengers get in touch with each other.
Marc-Antoine Cloutier, the lawyer hired by the taxi drivers’ union, said the law in Quebec has defined taxi companies clearly and Uber falls within that definition.
“There is no problem to distinguish this complaint from the Toronto judgment,” he said. “The law states that a company that sends out calls to people who offer transportation services for money is an intermediary, and has to be regulated.”
Uber now has 30 days to respond in court, and Cloutier said he hopes the case is heard within the next six months.
With a new transport minister named last week, it’s possible the province will change its laws to accommodate Uber, since Premier Philippe Couillard has said publicly he’s open to the idea. If that happens, Cloutier warned taxi drivers will challenge that legislation in court.
Jugand said the union opted to file a motion for an injunction because it is tired of waiting for the government to take action against Uber. “It’s not normal that the industry has to do what the government is supposed to be doing,” Jugand said. “It’s simple: taxis are legal and Uber is illegal. The law is clear. We simply want the law to be applied.”
He added the only action being taken against Uber is by Montreal’s taxi bureau, which seizes and impounds cars found to be driven by UberX drivers. However, that has had a limited effect since the drivers have challenged all the fines in court, and Uber is covering their legal fees, Jugand said.
Reacting on Tuesday, JeanChristophe de Le Rue, an Uber Canada spokesperson, said he was disappointed by the taxi drivers’ court action and said the Quebec government and the taxi industry need to adapt to a new reality because consumers want more choice.
“This request for a protectionist suit is without merit and aims at preserving the monopoly of the taxi industry to the detriment of consumers,” de Le Rue said in an email. “We believe that Quebecers deserve an alternative transportation option that is safe, reliable and affordable and that taxi and ridesharing can complement each other to better serve the needs of users.”