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The horn-honking parades resumed at Ottawa International Airport Friday as Airport Taxi-branded drivers continued to protest their apparent lock out at the hands of the airport authorities.
Early today, there was an unusually long line of Blue Line and Capital taxis — which are also part of the Coventry Connections consortium and members of the same union as the protesting Airport Taxi drivers — ready to take fares from the terminal.
The presence of the cabs angered the Airport Taxi workers, who used vented their displeasure from a special pen that had been set up away from the building.
The airport cabs are circling the airport again and honking pic.twitter.com/UXdHZHCZEQ
— Meghan Hurley (@meghan_hurley) August 14, 2015
Meanwhile, Mayor Jim Watson said Thursday he wants to expedite the city’s taxi bylaw review as tension grows over the emergence of Uber and a taxi protest at Ottawa International Airport entered its fourth day.
While the protest over increased fees drivers must pay for exclusive rights to pick up fares at the airport isn’t a city issue, Watson said Uber, which describes itself as ride-sharing service, has created tremendous stress on the taxi industry.
“There are so many challenges with the taxi industry — how it was designed and cobbled together over the years — it really is not the most functional system to have,” Watson said. “So is there anything we can do to move faster to deal with some of the emerging issues that cities around the world are grappling with?”
Watson said he plans to meet with staff and Coun. Diane Deans, chair of the committee that overseas the taxi industry, next week to see what can be done to speed up the review. He said he hopes to have a solution that is a “fair compromise” by the end of 2015.
The mayor added that some taxi drivers’ videotaping of Uber drivers and the airport unrest would only hurt an industry that is already on the defensive because of Uber.
“I think it really sets back their movement, and I think they’re slowly eroding any support they did have by the actions that they’re taking in inconveniencing and upsetting and disrupting people’s lives,” Watson said.
Amrik Singh, the president of Unifor Local 1688 representing 1,800 Ottawa taxi drivers, claimed Thursday that the Airport Taxi drivers won’t back down until Coventry Connections comes back to the negotiation table or lowers the fee. Coventry Connections refused to comment Thursday on the ongoing labour action.
“Financially, it’s impacting (the drivers) a lot, but do they have a choice? No,” Singh said.
Drivers circled the terminal on Thursday and repeatedly honked their horns and slowed traffic. Other drivers picketing on a median near the arrivals terminal blew whistles and used a megaphone to get their message across.
Taxi drivers appeared to violate some of the city’s bylaws during the protest by obstructing traffic patterns, honking a horn in a way likely to disturb others and not acting courteously at all times. When asked why bylaw management instructed its officers not to enforce the infractions at the airport, the city did not respond.
The protest turned noisy again on Thursday in response to the large buses that were parked near the taxi stand. Drivers complained the buses blocked their ability to offer free rides to customers leaving the airport. (Some airport taxi drivers were offering free rides to prevent regular cabs from picking up passengers at the airport.)
Krista Kealey, a spokeswoman for the Ottawa International Airport Authority, said the buses were parked there both to shuttle passengers and to help keep drivers in the designated picketing area.
“We are using it as an added safety measure based on some of the activities from yesterday,” Kealey said. She said drivers had thrown items in the taxi lane and had gone onto the road.
Ottawa police officers were on the scene, including one who set up a video camera to tape the protest in case the situation went awry.
To help passengers leaving the airport, a kiosk was set up near the main entrance to provide information on transportation options. The airport also extended the free period in the parkade from 15 minutes to one hour in response to the dispute.
The airport protest began on Tuesday after Coventry Connections — which owns a number of taxi lines in Ottawa, including Airport Taxi-branded cabs and Blue Line — announced the fee paid by drivers for the exclusive right to pick up fares on the arrivals platform had doubled.
The increased fee was negotiated between Coventry Connections and the Ottawa International Airport, but drivers have never agreed to it.
Under the old contract, drivers paid $345 per month, which worked out to an average of $1.50 to $2 per fare. Under the new contract, drivers would be charged $4.50 per fare instead of the monthly fee.
The new contract would cost drivers between $775 and $1,035 per month. That works out to anywhere from $430 to $690 extra that a driver would have to pay to pick up fares at the airport. The cab company and the airport both argue it’s a “fair market” fee.
The union said it proposed a 12-per-cent increase from the $345 per month fee, but it was rejected.
That was rejected and now airport drivers are collecting $240 a week in strike pay from Unifor as they walk the picket line or honk their horns as they circle the airport.
mhurley@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/meghan_hurley
查看原文...
Early today, there was an unusually long line of Blue Line and Capital taxis — which are also part of the Coventry Connections consortium and members of the same union as the protesting Airport Taxi drivers — ready to take fares from the terminal.
The presence of the cabs angered the Airport Taxi workers, who used vented their displeasure from a special pen that had been set up away from the building.
The airport cabs are circling the airport again and honking pic.twitter.com/UXdHZHCZEQ
— Meghan Hurley (@meghan_hurley) August 14, 2015
Meanwhile, Mayor Jim Watson said Thursday he wants to expedite the city’s taxi bylaw review as tension grows over the emergence of Uber and a taxi protest at Ottawa International Airport entered its fourth day.
While the protest over increased fees drivers must pay for exclusive rights to pick up fares at the airport isn’t a city issue, Watson said Uber, which describes itself as ride-sharing service, has created tremendous stress on the taxi industry.
“There are so many challenges with the taxi industry — how it was designed and cobbled together over the years — it really is not the most functional system to have,” Watson said. “So is there anything we can do to move faster to deal with some of the emerging issues that cities around the world are grappling with?”
Watson said he plans to meet with staff and Coun. Diane Deans, chair of the committee that overseas the taxi industry, next week to see what can be done to speed up the review. He said he hopes to have a solution that is a “fair compromise” by the end of 2015.
The mayor added that some taxi drivers’ videotaping of Uber drivers and the airport unrest would only hurt an industry that is already on the defensive because of Uber.
“I think it really sets back their movement, and I think they’re slowly eroding any support they did have by the actions that they’re taking in inconveniencing and upsetting and disrupting people’s lives,” Watson said.
Amrik Singh, the president of Unifor Local 1688 representing 1,800 Ottawa taxi drivers, claimed Thursday that the Airport Taxi drivers won’t back down until Coventry Connections comes back to the negotiation table or lowers the fee. Coventry Connections refused to comment Thursday on the ongoing labour action.
“Financially, it’s impacting (the drivers) a lot, but do they have a choice? No,” Singh said.
Drivers circled the terminal on Thursday and repeatedly honked their horns and slowed traffic. Other drivers picketing on a median near the arrivals terminal blew whistles and used a megaphone to get their message across.
Taxi drivers appeared to violate some of the city’s bylaws during the protest by obstructing traffic patterns, honking a horn in a way likely to disturb others and not acting courteously at all times. When asked why bylaw management instructed its officers not to enforce the infractions at the airport, the city did not respond.
The protest turned noisy again on Thursday in response to the large buses that were parked near the taxi stand. Drivers complained the buses blocked their ability to offer free rides to customers leaving the airport. (Some airport taxi drivers were offering free rides to prevent regular cabs from picking up passengers at the airport.)
Krista Kealey, a spokeswoman for the Ottawa International Airport Authority, said the buses were parked there both to shuttle passengers and to help keep drivers in the designated picketing area.
“We are using it as an added safety measure based on some of the activities from yesterday,” Kealey said. She said drivers had thrown items in the taxi lane and had gone onto the road.
Ottawa police officers were on the scene, including one who set up a video camera to tape the protest in case the situation went awry.
To help passengers leaving the airport, a kiosk was set up near the main entrance to provide information on transportation options. The airport also extended the free period in the parkade from 15 minutes to one hour in response to the dispute.
The airport protest began on Tuesday after Coventry Connections — which owns a number of taxi lines in Ottawa, including Airport Taxi-branded cabs and Blue Line — announced the fee paid by drivers for the exclusive right to pick up fares on the arrivals platform had doubled.
The increased fee was negotiated between Coventry Connections and the Ottawa International Airport, but drivers have never agreed to it.
Under the old contract, drivers paid $345 per month, which worked out to an average of $1.50 to $2 per fare. Under the new contract, drivers would be charged $4.50 per fare instead of the monthly fee.
The new contract would cost drivers between $775 and $1,035 per month. That works out to anywhere from $430 to $690 extra that a driver would have to pay to pick up fares at the airport. The cab company and the airport both argue it’s a “fair market” fee.
The union said it proposed a 12-per-cent increase from the $345 per month fee, but it was rejected.
That was rejected and now airport drivers are collecting $240 a week in strike pay from Unifor as they walk the picket line or honk their horns as they circle the airport.
mhurley@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/meghan_hurley
查看原文...
