Montreal city council is hoping a dress code and courtesy will help taxi drivers fight off the competition of cut-rate unlicenced drivers.
City council has adopted new rules for taxi drivers that come into effect on Jan. 1, 2016.
Drivers will have a dress code of dark pants or shorts and white shirts.
They will also have to step out of their cars and open the doors for anyone who called or used an app to request a taxi.
These changes come less than two weeks after all taxis in Montreal were required to accept credit and debit cards. All taxis in Montreal will be getting security cameras as well.
Felix Tremblay, spokesperson for the Taxi Development Commission said they are pleased to adopt the new rules regarding conduct.
“It's showing the goodwill of the driver, it's showing the driver wants to serve the customer because for some reason there is the perception that cab drivers are reluctant to give a good service, which isn't the case,” said Tremblay.
Drivers CTV spoke to did not mind a dress code, but said their real competition comes from Uber X, and want to know why the Montreal Taxi Bureau that regulates the industry is not doing more to remove those drivers from city streets.
Twenty-year taxi veteran Abraham Mesfun said that despite being well-intentioned, holding doors for customers is not always that practical.
“In downtown you cannot do that, how can you do in the middle of Ste. Catherine or Sherboroke, open two doors, where are people are lineup waiting for you, to even put people in within seconds?” said Mesfun.
