The president of one of the city’s largest taxi companies is urging drivers not to take part in a protest planned to disrupt the city this weekend as Toronto hosts the NBA all-star game.
In a message to Beck taxi drivers, Gail Beck-Souter says she knows that the taxi workers are frustrated, but says the protest won’t help.
“In short, don’t do it,” Beck-Souter says in the letter. “Some may want to convince you a protest that upsets this big event would help us get our message out. They are wrong. It would only hurt our valued customers and give Uber exactly what they want.”
On Sunday, the United Taxi Workers Association announced that they would launch a massive taxi protest in the city this weekend to express their frustrations over Uber. The group says thousands of cabs will take part in demonstrations on the road that will culminate in some sort of disruption in the downtown core. A similar event in December jammed roads around Queen’s park, City Hall, as well as several major highways. It also drew a slew of public scorn.
The group coordinating the protest represents frustrated taxi drivers, but not the industry as a whole.
In her letter to drivers, Beck-Souter says a disruptive protest won’t help taxi drivers make their case to the public.
“It will not help our industry. I know in my heart of hearts there is a better way to accomplish our goals. I trust the people of Toronto believe in fairness and equity, and that city hall will come to reflect in their decisions the values of Torontonians,” she says.
She adds that she will repeat her message every day until the planned protest.
Taxi workers say they’re angry the city has not banned Uber, a ride-sharing service which operates in violation of some city bylaws and which dodges expensive regulations that taxis face.
The city has said it is working as quickly as it can to create a new regulatory framework that would set a level playing field. But it has stopped short of filing an application for an injunction against Uber – a move it has tried unsuccessfully in the past and which city lawyers have deemed likely to fail.
The protest comes as Toronto prepares for a busy weekend. Events around the NBA All-Star Game are set to start Friday and an influx of international media will be in town to cover the sporting event. The Canadian International Auto Show also opens for its first weekend Friday and restaurants and other date venues are expecting an influx of customers for Valentine’s Day.
