Taxi drivers say the new regulations being imposed by Montreal’s Airport Authority are too onerous.
Aeroports de Montreal is implementing a dress code for taxi drivers, and as of Nov. 15 drivers who pick up passengers at the terminal will have to wear dress pants, polo shirts, and will not be allowed to wear baseball hats.
Some drivers approve of the dress code, saying that as ambassadors to the city it makes sense for them to be dressed appropriately.
Others say their behaviour toward tourists matters more, and that being polite and courteous should be enough.
But the ADM also wants to see drivers at the wheel of newer, more fuel-efficient vehicles, and starting this fall will not even accept applications for airport permits unless the cars being driven are no more than four years old.
Drivers say that puts a large burden on them to update their vehicles frequently, and with only 300 taxi drivers allowed to pick up passengers at the airport, it's a high cost to apply with little chance of being compensated.
"Work harder and harder, and every year it gets worse and worse," said Azad Haji.
The ADM holds a lottery to award passenger pickup permits, and holders are not guaranteed being able to wait at the airport for passengers year-after-year.
The airport authority also wants to see more taxi drivers using fewer vehicles that rely on fossil fuels, and wants 100 of the 300 vehicles approved to be hybrid or all-electric.
