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Ottawa’s taxi drivers have been protesting for more than four weeks now.
Four weeks of rallies, pickets exchanging angry words with Uber customers and — in the case of locked-out airport cab drivers — hurling insults at fellow drivers who are taking their fares.
The drivers’ tactics are doing them more harm than good, says McLoughlin Media vice-president Laura Peck.
“They present such an angry side that for people like myself, a business traveller, we notice that they’re angry,” says Peck who is also a senior partner with transformleaders.ca.
“They’re not helping themselves. The weary traveller doesn’t want to get into a cab with a driver with an angry message.”
On Tuesday morning, the cabbies blocked traffic on the Airport Parkway. Last week, they released a video on YouTube in which a driver who says he is “protecting my business” threatens to call the police on two women who are entering an Uber car.
Earlier in the summer, the drivers released two videos in which they question an Uber driver about the vehicle’s ownership and licensing. In one video, the Uber’s driver’s license plate and face were included.
Mayor Jim Watson and police Chief Charles Bordeleau have warned the drivers against aggressive tactics. The usually taciturn Watson referred to the drivers as “thugs” and “bullies” and said they were participating in “vigilantism.”
The drivers have legitimate concerns, says Peck. Their industry is getting hammered by the arrival of the ride-sharing app Uber, and the airport cabbies are taking another hit with an additional $5 fee to pick up a passenger at the airport. But they are compounding their woes with their behaviour.
“It’s sad that they not communicating in a way that would win the hearts and minds of people,” she says. Aside from the occasional guerrilla video, the drivers don’t have any noticeable media profile. At the same time, Uber has “dominated” social media, says Peck.
During union disputes, labour has to inconvenience customers to get its grievances heard.
“If they don’t do that, it doesn’t have an effect,” says Peter O’Malley, a former communications consultant who now teaches a course in public relations at Carleton University. “If they stayed home, no one would do anything about it.
“They know they’re in a transition in the industry, and they want to be part of the future. They’re playing by the rules. Other people are changing the rules.”
However, the taxi drivers have failed to explain a complex situation to the public. “There are a lot of actors and a lot of history. They could benefit from a warm and professional presentation,” says O’Malley.
“We see them as a parasitic monopoly, not as small businesspeople. They do have an image problem and a public sympathy problem. That comes from the history.”
Communicating well is an essential part of the campaign, says O’Malley. But he believes the real solution for the drivers is structural, a kind of dispatch service similar to Uber, along with a ratings service that creates trust with consumers.
It’s not unusual for Peck to leave Ottawa on business travel at least once a week. She says she had had plenty of good drivers, but on a couple of recent occasions, the dispatcher sent her a dirty, too-small cab, even though she reserved in advance and said she had a lot of luggage. This reinforces preconceived notions about cab service, she says.
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Four weeks of rallies, pickets exchanging angry words with Uber customers and — in the case of locked-out airport cab drivers — hurling insults at fellow drivers who are taking their fares.
The drivers’ tactics are doing them more harm than good, says McLoughlin Media vice-president Laura Peck.
“They present such an angry side that for people like myself, a business traveller, we notice that they’re angry,” says Peck who is also a senior partner with transformleaders.ca.
“They’re not helping themselves. The weary traveller doesn’t want to get into a cab with a driver with an angry message.”
On Tuesday morning, the cabbies blocked traffic on the Airport Parkway. Last week, they released a video on YouTube in which a driver who says he is “protecting my business” threatens to call the police on two women who are entering an Uber car.
Earlier in the summer, the drivers released two videos in which they question an Uber driver about the vehicle’s ownership and licensing. In one video, the Uber’s driver’s license plate and face were included.
Mayor Jim Watson and police Chief Charles Bordeleau have warned the drivers against aggressive tactics. The usually taciturn Watson referred to the drivers as “thugs” and “bullies” and said they were participating in “vigilantism.”
The drivers have legitimate concerns, says Peck. Their industry is getting hammered by the arrival of the ride-sharing app Uber, and the airport cabbies are taking another hit with an additional $5 fee to pick up a passenger at the airport. But they are compounding their woes with their behaviour.
“It’s sad that they not communicating in a way that would win the hearts and minds of people,” she says. Aside from the occasional guerrilla video, the drivers don’t have any noticeable media profile. At the same time, Uber has “dominated” social media, says Peck.
During union disputes, labour has to inconvenience customers to get its grievances heard.
“If they don’t do that, it doesn’t have an effect,” says Peter O’Malley, a former communications consultant who now teaches a course in public relations at Carleton University. “If they stayed home, no one would do anything about it.
“They know they’re in a transition in the industry, and they want to be part of the future. They’re playing by the rules. Other people are changing the rules.”
However, the taxi drivers have failed to explain a complex situation to the public. “There are a lot of actors and a lot of history. They could benefit from a warm and professional presentation,” says O’Malley.
“We see them as a parasitic monopoly, not as small businesspeople. They do have an image problem and a public sympathy problem. That comes from the history.”
Communicating well is an essential part of the campaign, says O’Malley. But he believes the real solution for the drivers is structural, a kind of dispatch service similar to Uber, along with a ratings service that creates trust with consumers.
It’s not unusual for Peck to leave Ottawa on business travel at least once a week. She says she had had plenty of good drivers, but on a couple of recent occasions, the dispatcher sent her a dirty, too-small cab, even though she reserved in advance and said she had a lot of luggage. This reinforces preconceived notions about cab service, she says.
Related
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