Yusuf Al Mezel, president of the taxi drivers union, says there are enough licensed cabs to serve the residents of Ottawa during the OC Transpo strike.
An increasing number of Ottawa citizens are turning to potentially dangerous unlicensed taxi drivers to get around amidst the OC Transpo strike.
Since the strike began Dec. 10, unlicensed taxis have accounted for about 35 to 40 per cent of overall taxi business, said Yusuf Al Mezel, president of Canadian Autoworkers Local 1688.
That number is up from 25 per cent prior to the strike.
Business has doubled since the strike says one unlicensed taxi driver, who identified himself as Mike.
Another driver, requesting anonymity, says his business has increased 200 per cent.
“If there was no OC Transpo strike there wouldn’t be any calls for our service – the strike gets people to depend on alternatives,” says Mike.
The situation since the strike has been unusual because most of the new customers are students, says Al Mezel.
“The students, especially those from out of town who don’t understand the industry, come and find these business cards for unlicensed cabs and start calling them.”
Unlicensed cabs are illegal in the city.
Legal cab drivers go through a rigorous certification process before they can hit the road.
Licensed drivers are subject to a criminal background check. They also must complete a four-month course at Algonquin, provide commercial insurance, have their cars inspected twice a year, and are bound by unannounced inspections by bylaw officers.
Unlicensed drivers don’t have to follow any of these regulations.
Al Mezel says city officials have told him they are ignoring the issue.
“When the city was discussing alternatives to address transportation the idea was: okay, let’s keep silent and let the bandit cabs work and move people.”
Linda Anderson, manager of bylaw enforcement for the City of Ottawa, says the city hasn’t issued more tickets since the strike.
She says this is because the city usually only becomes aware of unlicensed cabs through the licensed taxi industry, which has not voiced any more complaints.
“Right now the industry has been so busy they haven’t been able to keep up with the problem – I’m sure when things die down they’ll let us know.”
Licensed taxis have been extremely busy since the strike, but the city has 1,100 available at anytime to meet demand, says Al Mezel.
There are even enough drivers during rush hour and intense weather.
Many unlicensed drivers question the city’s capacity and argue they are doing a public service by driving citizens that would likely be without transportation otherwise.
“From young to old, there are people I’ve talked to who haven’t been to work in days, people who are waiting on the streets two or three hours for a licensed cab that never shows,” says one unlicensed driver who identified himself as JJ.
Underground cabs can sometimes offer cheaper rates than their licensed competition.
Amber Pigeon, an Ottawa resident living in St. Laurent, says she recently quit her job because the cost of a licensed taxi to get from St. Laurent to her job on Bank Street was 30 dollars one-way.
An ad by an unlicensed driver found on the website Kijiji charges 15 to 20 dollars one-way for that same trip.
However, Pigeon says unlicensed cabs are too risky.
“Underground cabs are not really something I’m looking at because you don’t know who is driving,” says Pigeon.
Anderson says citizens should never get into a car with a stranger who is unlicensed and untraceable.
“Anyone who uses bandit cabs is setting themselves up some potential issues, maybe serious safety issues,” says Anderson.