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Flyers can expect delays again today at the Ottawa International Airport as taxi drivers, angry over a new contract between the airport and the cab company, staged disruptive tactics Wednesday morning.
The morning started quietly, with some drivers picking up fares in the early hours.
But by about 8:30 a.m., the drivers had resumed their horn-honking loud drive-arounds at the terminal.
Police were out in force to maintain order, and there were several tow trucks at the scene, presumably in case the taxi drivers attempted to block the road.
Emotions are boiling over. Cabbies are screaming at dispatchers. pic.twitter.com/q9WrJJk3Us
— Vpilieci (@Vpilieci) August 12, 2015
Airport Taxi drivers are offering free rides to keep fares from paying taxis that are crossing picket lines. #OttNews
— Vpilieci (@Vpilieci) August 12, 2015
At a time when many taxi drivers are feeling pressured by unprecedented — and possibly illegal — competition, Ottawa airport cabbies began their labour action Tuesday.
Dozens of passengers arriving at Ottawa International Airport were confused and delayed after they discovered they could not pick up a cab after arriving in the capital.
For hours, airport taxis circled the arrivals area of the airport, honking their horns, not picking up passengers.
“I have no idea what’s going on,” said Angela Quaeb of Ottawa, who was returning from the United States. “I just sort of walked out to this madness. I’ve been told it’s because of the taxi strike or something like that. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The dispute is over a new contract that taxi company Coventry Connections struck with the airport, which more than doubles the fees airport taxi drivers pay for the exclusive right to accept new fares at the arrivals platform, according to Hanif Patni, president of Coventry Connections.
Airport taxi drivers are holding "locked out" signs around the arrival unit. Airport seems pretty empty #ottnews pic.twitter.com/HOdzIS5EJ7
— Anaïs Lynn Voski (@anaisvoski) August 11, 2015
The fee used to be about $2 per trip, but under the new contract it jumps to $4.50. That fee comes directly from the fares that drivers collect.
Some drivers were waving $5 bills out the windows of their taxis, vowing that they wouldn’t stop protesting until the fee increase was reversed.
“Every day,” said one driver, who only identified himself as Moe. “Every day we’ll be back until they change their mind on the $5 fee.”
It's pretty loud at the Ottawa airport right now. Cabs are circling but no major traffic jam #ottnews pic.twitter.com/G10Sj9b3aZ
— Anaïs Lynn Voski (@anaisvoski) August 11, 2015
Abed Madi, the president of the airport unit of Unifor Local 1688, said it’s unacceptable that fees have more than doubled in a climate where drivers are already losing money to Uber, the online app that markets itself as a ride-share company.
“It will affect us negatively financially in a big way,” Madi said. “It’s just adding salt to the injury.”
Patni said he knew drivers wouldn’t approve of the fee increase, but said the company negotiated in good faith for about a year on a new contract.
“We couldn’t come to a conclusion and that’s why it’s come to this,” Patni said. “When the collective agreement ended, we had to say, ‘Look, this is our last position. We cannot shift on this.'”
The standoff began Tuesday morning, when Airport Taxi drivers refused to pick up passengers at the arrivals area to protest the new fee. Coventry responded by barring them and allowing its regular Blue Line and Capital taxis to pick up at the airport instead, which few appeared to do.
In a letter to its members, the union pleaded with cab drivers to boycott the airport.
“The company (Coventry Connections) is trying very hard to create a dispute between our membership. They are asking you to be scabs against your own brothers. Do not believe their rhetoric and do not allow them to undermine our solidarity,” reads the letter. “The issue is a money grab from both the airport authority and the Company. If we allow them to charge a fee or surcharge per fare, who is next? The train station, the bus station, shopping centres?”
However, if other cab drivers respected the boycott, the same could not likely be said for Uber drivers. Because the company operates in contravention of city rules, and its drivers have been repeatedly charged and fined by Ottawa bylaw and police officers, Uber drivers were not obviously apparent at the airport Tuesday.
Relatives are stopping by to pick stranded passengers up at @FlyYOW #ottnews pic.twitter.com/0yZAhzxjk5
— Anaïs Lynn Voski (@anaisvoski) August 11, 2015
But many passengers could be seen surreptitiously checking the licence plate on a vehicle before entering it, which is the key way for Uber passengers to make sure they are getting into the correct car.
And Uber sent out an emailed promotion on Tuesday afternoon, with the subject line “Keep Ottawa moving by giving 2 free rides,” offering two rides to new Uber customers.
Airport officials scrambled to deal with the disruption by offering free shuttle service using coach buses, shuttle vans and limousines. The grace period for those parking outside was extended to an hour from the regular 15 minutes.
A “cellphone lot” was set up adjacent to the long-term lot where those wanting to pick up passengers could wait until they got a text or phone call from the arriving passenger.
“We’re trying to accommodate as many drivers as we can,” said airport authority spokeswoman Krista Kealey, adding that the measures would be continued as long as necessary. “We’re doing our best to keep things moving smoothly,” she said.
Kealey confirmed that the airport had recently renegotiated its taxi dispatch contract with Coventry Connections and that new contract included an unspecified increase to reflect “fair market” fees.
While any taxi can drop passengers at the airport, only Airport Taxi-branded cabs can park and pick up fares. However, the 150 cabs have struggled to keep up with traffic at times due to the increasing numbers coming to the nation’s capital and higher air traffic.
Patni said the new airport contract also allows other drivers to service the airport during peak periods when Airport Taxi cabs are not available.
Airport Taxi licence plates were sold to a limited number of cabs about 15 years ago, and are among the most coveted in town. Trips from the airport are typically higher fares and licences to pickup fares at the airport have been sold or leased for as much as $250,000. However, since the arrival of Uber, the value of those licences has plummeted.
The unrest at the airport comes at a time when Patni is already dealing with labour issues within his organization. On Aug. 1, regular Ottawa cabbies went on strike against Coventry Connections by withholding what the drivers consider to be unfair fees from taxi dispatcher Coventry, which handles dispatch duties for more than 1,000 of the 1,200 licensed cabs in the city.
– With files from Robert Sibley, Anais Voski and Patrick Smith
A passenger says she used Uber to come to the airport but is afraid to use it to leave since there's so many police #ottnews
— Anaïs Lynn Voski (@anaisvoski) August 11, 2015
Lots of angry @FlyYOW taxi drivers but not many passengers. @OC_Transpo buses are on time or minor delays #ottnews pic.twitter.com/2YNYu8d0Ib
— Anaïs Lynn Voski (@anaisvoski) August 11, 2015
查看原文...
The morning started quietly, with some drivers picking up fares in the early hours.
But by about 8:30 a.m., the drivers had resumed their horn-honking loud drive-arounds at the terminal.
Police were out in force to maintain order, and there were several tow trucks at the scene, presumably in case the taxi drivers attempted to block the road.
Emotions are boiling over. Cabbies are screaming at dispatchers. pic.twitter.com/q9WrJJk3Us
— Vpilieci (@Vpilieci) August 12, 2015
Airport Taxi drivers are offering free rides to keep fares from paying taxis that are crossing picket lines. #OttNews
— Vpilieci (@Vpilieci) August 12, 2015
At a time when many taxi drivers are feeling pressured by unprecedented — and possibly illegal — competition, Ottawa airport cabbies began their labour action Tuesday.
Dozens of passengers arriving at Ottawa International Airport were confused and delayed after they discovered they could not pick up a cab after arriving in the capital.
For hours, airport taxis circled the arrivals area of the airport, honking their horns, not picking up passengers.
“I have no idea what’s going on,” said Angela Quaeb of Ottawa, who was returning from the United States. “I just sort of walked out to this madness. I’ve been told it’s because of the taxi strike or something like that. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The dispute is over a new contract that taxi company Coventry Connections struck with the airport, which more than doubles the fees airport taxi drivers pay for the exclusive right to accept new fares at the arrivals platform, according to Hanif Patni, president of Coventry Connections.
Airport taxi drivers are holding "locked out" signs around the arrival unit. Airport seems pretty empty #ottnews pic.twitter.com/HOdzIS5EJ7
— Anaïs Lynn Voski (@anaisvoski) August 11, 2015
The fee used to be about $2 per trip, but under the new contract it jumps to $4.50. That fee comes directly from the fares that drivers collect.
Some drivers were waving $5 bills out the windows of their taxis, vowing that they wouldn’t stop protesting until the fee increase was reversed.
“Every day,” said one driver, who only identified himself as Moe. “Every day we’ll be back until they change their mind on the $5 fee.”
It's pretty loud at the Ottawa airport right now. Cabs are circling but no major traffic jam #ottnews pic.twitter.com/G10Sj9b3aZ
— Anaïs Lynn Voski (@anaisvoski) August 11, 2015
Abed Madi, the president of the airport unit of Unifor Local 1688, said it’s unacceptable that fees have more than doubled in a climate where drivers are already losing money to Uber, the online app that markets itself as a ride-share company.
“It will affect us negatively financially in a big way,” Madi said. “It’s just adding salt to the injury.”
Patni said he knew drivers wouldn’t approve of the fee increase, but said the company negotiated in good faith for about a year on a new contract.
“We couldn’t come to a conclusion and that’s why it’s come to this,” Patni said. “When the collective agreement ended, we had to say, ‘Look, this is our last position. We cannot shift on this.'”
The standoff began Tuesday morning, when Airport Taxi drivers refused to pick up passengers at the arrivals area to protest the new fee. Coventry responded by barring them and allowing its regular Blue Line and Capital taxis to pick up at the airport instead, which few appeared to do.
In a letter to its members, the union pleaded with cab drivers to boycott the airport.
“The company (Coventry Connections) is trying very hard to create a dispute between our membership. They are asking you to be scabs against your own brothers. Do not believe their rhetoric and do not allow them to undermine our solidarity,” reads the letter. “The issue is a money grab from both the airport authority and the Company. If we allow them to charge a fee or surcharge per fare, who is next? The train station, the bus station, shopping centres?”
However, if other cab drivers respected the boycott, the same could not likely be said for Uber drivers. Because the company operates in contravention of city rules, and its drivers have been repeatedly charged and fined by Ottawa bylaw and police officers, Uber drivers were not obviously apparent at the airport Tuesday.
Relatives are stopping by to pick stranded passengers up at @FlyYOW #ottnews pic.twitter.com/0yZAhzxjk5
— Anaïs Lynn Voski (@anaisvoski) August 11, 2015
But many passengers could be seen surreptitiously checking the licence plate on a vehicle before entering it, which is the key way for Uber passengers to make sure they are getting into the correct car.
And Uber sent out an emailed promotion on Tuesday afternoon, with the subject line “Keep Ottawa moving by giving 2 free rides,” offering two rides to new Uber customers.
Airport officials scrambled to deal with the disruption by offering free shuttle service using coach buses, shuttle vans and limousines. The grace period for those parking outside was extended to an hour from the regular 15 minutes.
A “cellphone lot” was set up adjacent to the long-term lot where those wanting to pick up passengers could wait until they got a text or phone call from the arriving passenger.
“We’re trying to accommodate as many drivers as we can,” said airport authority spokeswoman Krista Kealey, adding that the measures would be continued as long as necessary. “We’re doing our best to keep things moving smoothly,” she said.
Kealey confirmed that the airport had recently renegotiated its taxi dispatch contract with Coventry Connections and that new contract included an unspecified increase to reflect “fair market” fees.
While any taxi can drop passengers at the airport, only Airport Taxi-branded cabs can park and pick up fares. However, the 150 cabs have struggled to keep up with traffic at times due to the increasing numbers coming to the nation’s capital and higher air traffic.
Patni said the new airport contract also allows other drivers to service the airport during peak periods when Airport Taxi cabs are not available.
Airport Taxi licence plates were sold to a limited number of cabs about 15 years ago, and are among the most coveted in town. Trips from the airport are typically higher fares and licences to pickup fares at the airport have been sold or leased for as much as $250,000. However, since the arrival of Uber, the value of those licences has plummeted.
The unrest at the airport comes at a time when Patni is already dealing with labour issues within his organization. On Aug. 1, regular Ottawa cabbies went on strike against Coventry Connections by withholding what the drivers consider to be unfair fees from taxi dispatcher Coventry, which handles dispatch duties for more than 1,000 of the 1,200 licensed cabs in the city.
– With files from Robert Sibley, Anais Voski and Patrick Smith
A passenger says she used Uber to come to the airport but is afraid to use it to leave since there's so many police #ottnews
— Anaïs Lynn Voski (@anaisvoski) August 11, 2015
Lots of angry @FlyYOW taxi drivers but not many passengers. @OC_Transpo buses are on time or minor delays #ottnews pic.twitter.com/2YNYu8d0Ib
— Anaïs Lynn Voski (@anaisvoski) August 11, 2015
查看原文...
