The Ottawa taxi drivers’ union is hoping the decision to turn down a fare increase will encourage customers to continue hailing cabs.
The Ottawa taxi drivers union has turned down a suggested fare increase from the City of Ottawa in hopes of negotiating different ways to save money, other than charging their customers more.
Ottawa’s Community and Protective Services Committee was supposed to debate early in October on a 2.5-per-cent fare increase. The city staff decided on a 2.5-per-cent hike as it parallels the increase of OC Transpo bus fares.
But president of the CAW Local 1688 Ontario Taxi Union, Amrik Singh, surprised councillors by refusing the increase, saying, “considering the economic situation, we thought it was a good time to tell the public ‘we care about you.’”
“The more we can control any prices going up is better and anything that we can keep the everyday citizens from spending is better. So I see taxis as reasonable considering our economy right now,” says Centretown resident Josh Martin.
Some drivers say they are concerned about losing money every day due to the rising gas and repair costs. Although the last fare hike came in 2008, Ottawa cab fares are currently third or fourth highest in the country. If the union had accepted the 2.5 per cent fare increase Ottawa would become the second highest in the country next to Mississauga.
Blueline taxi driver Mark Eshia says he is happy that the union turned down the pay increase. He says the city is now open to giving taxi drivers other concessions to help them deal with rising costs and hopes the union will negotiate an extra year in their car-age limit.
In 2001 the city enforced the policy that vehicles entering the taxi fleet cannot be older than four years and can only remain in service for six years, Singh says.
“We have never understood why the city enforced this, but I think the city wanted to provide nicer cars to the public at the drivers expense,” says Singh. Since thenthe union has sought to change the car age limit to eight years many times without success.
But with the recent fare increase refusal Singh says he “hopes that this time when they go to city hall once again in the coming weeks it will be different.”
Bay Coun. Mark Taylor, chair of the community and protective services committee, agrees with the union. “It is good for the industry, it was good for the residents of Ottawa, which is most important and it was demonstrable of our good relationship with the union,” he says.
However, Taylor says that the union’s decision to reject the cab fare increase is not connected with the union getting other compensations from the city.
“Their desire to pull back on this was solely generated on the fact that they wanted to be good corporate citizens. It doesn’t do them any favours to be perceived as too expensive or to be perceived to be raising their fares beyond affordability,” he says.
But, “It is something I would be willing to look at in terms of lengthening the age, yes absolutely, and why? Cars are built better now than back when we brought in that bylaw,” Taylor says.
Linda Anderson, city official, says the city holds frequent discussions with the union before coming to a decision. These discussions form the basis of staff reports, such as the one recommending a fare hike.
Taylor says these discussions are an ongoing process, but he hopes to see more taxi-related business in the committee’s agenda before the end of the year.