Taxis drop 2017 promo in protest against Uber

Some cabs have stopped being roving billboards for Ottawa 2017.

Decals have been stuck on taxis to promote the city’s party-planning branch ahead of Canada’s 150th birthday.

Since council’s decision last week to legalize Uber, some of those decals have been removed as a silent protest against the city’s new licensing system, which begins Sept. 30.

“It is not organized, but a lot of drivers are very upset at (Mayor) Jim Watson and (Coun.) Diane Deans, and they are telling me that in 2017 when the whole country comes to Ottawa, we are going to tell people how this municipality treats them,” taxi union president Amrik Singh said Wednesday.

Singh said he doesn’t know how cabbies will spread their message during what is expected to be the city’s busiest year ever for tourism.

“It’s too early to say how we’ll do it, but the anger and sadness is all among taxi drivers,” Singh said, speculating some cabbies might stop driving by the 2017 parties because of the changing regulations.

“What do taxi drivers have to celebrate?” he asked.

Council’s decision means there will be a separate licensing category for alternative transportation providers like Uber. Some rules differ between the two categories, such as in-car cameras and individual licensing fees.

There haven’t been public protests in response to council’s decision to reform the taxi industry, something for which many at city hall give cabbies credit.

“Our fight is not with the public,” Singh said. “I still think the public is on our side.”

Hanif Patni, president of Coventry Connections, the city’s largest cab company, said there has been no message from the company for drivers to remove the 2017 decals.

“It was just one-offs and it’s just some anger,” Patni said, noting that some of the decals had simply peeled off on their own.

The 2017 promotions are everywhere in Ottawa, from building facades to parking garage arms. The Ottawa 2017 bureau, which is an arm’s length organization of city hall, is in charge of finding sponsors and planning events.

The bureau’s media relations manager says a partnership with Coventry Connections was explored more than a year ago, but a deal wasn’t struck.

“Regardless, Ottawa 2017 appreciates that several taxi drivers have placed 2017 logos on their vehicles on a voluntary basis to show their support and pride as ambassadors for our city,” Denise LeBlanc said in an email.