Drivers say taxi owners are bullying them

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This article was published 27/04/2018 (2472 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s taxi industry is in chaos as drivers, owners and dispatchers are squabbling over who is allowed to drive for ride-hailing companies and who should cover additional costs imposed by the city.

Hundreds of drivers protested Thursday night in a Polo Park lot and again on Friday afternoon at city hall, decrying what they called “bullying” behaviour from cab owners.

“We are protesting for the rights of the driver, respect for the drivers,” said Mukhtar Hussain Lang, a Unicity driver who helped gather about 300 signatures calling for an apology from owners.

“(It’s a) bullying atmosphere the companies have… they just tell you without any notice, they suspend the cabs. They disrespect the drivers.”

An incident at the airport earlier Thursday night sparked the action. A taxi owner allegedly took the keys away from one of his drivers during a dispute, without giving him a proper reason, Hussain Lang said.

The driver was too shaken to speak Friday and the owner was not available for comment.

Some recent arguments have erupted between owners and drivers who want to pick up work with ride-hailing companies to make a second income.

Bhupendar Singh, a Duffy’s taxi driver, said he feels as though taxi owners are trying to pit drivers against TappCar and Cowboy Taxi, both of which began operating in the city in Early March.

Taxi drivers have been getting together for informal meetings to discuss changes within the industry and some believe owners feel threatened by the gatherings.

“There’s so many changes coming to the industry with the ride-sharing companies coming up and the owners are increasing the (drivers’) lease amount. So we wanted to know what we should do now,” Singh said.

“So they took it as an offence, like why (are) all these people gathering? And the next day they’re suspended.”

From 50 to 80 drivers believe they have been suspended from their taxi jobs because they haven’t been able to log into their computer systems since Thursday.

Scott McFadyen, spokesman for the Winnipeg Community Taxi Coalition which represents people who drive for Unicity and Duffy’s, said no one has been suspended and the dispute is the result of a communication breakdown between the two sides.

“Anyone who’s saying this has a misunderstanding. I don’t know if it’s the word ‘suspension,’ but if it’s a consequence of what happened yesterday, no,” he said, referring to Thursday’s protest.

“We want all frustrated drivers to contact the owners… and the owners are reaching out to drivers, as well. We’re just doing some internal communication right now.”

“We want everyone to know, and the public to know, that we’re committed to having service 24/7 and getting people from Point A to Point B as quickly and safely as possible,” he added.

At the Friday protest, some drivers said they would be skipping shifts until taxi owners started apologizing and treating drivers more fairly.

Many wanted to drive Friday evening — sure to be a busy shift ferrying Winnipeg Jets fans to and from various viewing parties across the city for the team’s first game of their second-round playoff series in Nashville — but they wouldn’t budge on principle.

“We are not driving. It’s going to be chaos in the city, believe me,” Unicity driver Mandeep Marar said.

Coun. Ross Eadie stopped by Friday’s protest to hear some of the drivers’ concerns. He advised them to band together and start unionizing in order to protect their best interests.

“I think they should unionize and stand up, yes. Actually, all these people here,” he paused, turning to yell at the drivers.

“When’s your next shift, drivers? Don’t show up!”

Many applauded and cheered.

Since the City of Winnipeg took over regulation of the taxi industry from the province in March, some licensing and vehicle fees have gone up, causing additional strain on some tense relationships between drivers and owners, McFadyen acknowledged.

“To be frank, we’re in a really challenging time, and so we’re dealing with some significant increase in terms of costs — metering rates and fines and fares and that sort of thing — and so where this (protest) emanated from is having a discussion with the drivers about some of the increased costs that come with the city regulating our industry,” he said.

The taxi industry players were scheduled to meet Sunday to discuss the pending changes, but the meeting was postponed.

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @_jessbu