Cabbies in Uber sting ‘bunch of bullies’

Mayor pans drivers’ YouTube tactic, says city must uphold existing rules

Tensions between Ottawa cabbies and Uber heated up Thursday as Mayor Jim Watson called out a group of taxi drivers as “bullies” for launching sting operations against Uber cars.

“It looked like a bunch of bullies were going into an Uber car and secretly taping,” Watson said of a video posted on YouTube that shows drivers covertly recording an Uber ride. “I think it hurts their cause instead of helping them.”

The Uber sting operation is an attempt by some Ottawa taxi drivers to have more drivers with the ridehailing Internet service charged under the city taxi bylaw.

Watson said his message to the taxi industry is to let bylaw officers enforce the rules and don’t use intimidation tactics.

Amrik Singh, president of Unifor Local 1688, which represents the city’s 1,700 cab drivers, said the union does not condone the vigilante efforts, but he understands the frustration.

“This is not authorized by the union. We believe in diplomacy. But it is becoming difficult for us to convince our drivers to hold on. Taxi drivers are really frustrated. They see this as the food being taken away from the plate right in front of them.”

Watson suggested for the first time that taxi drivers should be prepared for change once a city review of its taxi bylaw is complete next year. “If anyone was designing a taxi regulatory system today, it would not look anything like what we have right now, which has been a hodgepodge of plates and brokers and drivers and fees and so on.”

Watson said he is not against technology, but until the rules change, the city has a bylaw that it must uphold.

He also cautioned that the taxi industry increasingly seems out of touch with public sentiments with its threat of strike and secret sting operations.

Meanwhile, an ominous video is circulating on social media that calls for a day of taxi demonstrations against Uber on Sept. 16. “A storm is coming. People are angry. Things are about to boil over,” text says over a video that shows images of French taxi drivers overturning cars during an anti-Uber protest.

Phillip Powell, manager of licensing and permits at the city, said video footage alone, the kind being posted by the vigilante cabbies on YouTube, is not enough to substantiate a charge of an unlicensed taxicab operation. City bylaw officers would still be required to conduct their own investigation, he said.

“Upon completion of any investigation, the case is assessed to determine whether reasonable and probable grounds exist that an offence has been committed that would support the laying of a charge.”

The city’s enforcement of unlicensed taxicabs is ongoing, he said.

A total of 110 charges have been laid against 54 UberX drivers since the company began operations in Ottawa in October 2014.

Thirty seven drivers have pleaded guilty to 74 charges, with fines totalling more than $22,000, Powell said.

The fine for operating an unlicensed taxicab under the bylaw is $260. Unlicensed taxi drivers face a fine of $615 under the bylaw.

Union president Singh said he was surprised to hear the mayor’s characterization of taxi drivers who are secretly taping Uber rides.

“These people are not thugs, they are citizens of our city.”

And he said taxi drivers feel like they have followed all the rules and nobody is looking out for them.

Taxi drivers are really frustrated. They see this as the food being taken away from the plate right in front of them.