Airport taxi drivers will strike during Friday evening rush hour, demanding their operating parent company stop increasing driver expenses.
It’s the second week in a row that taxi drivers working under Taxelco, which runs multiple taxi banners in Montreal, are picketing outside Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
“Enough is enough,” said Rahim Rashidi, who has worked as a cab driver in Montreal for 30 years. “Our revenues are decreasing, and the expenses going up and up.”
Between 2 and 6 p.m. Friday, at least 300 cab drivers will cease to offer their services from the airport. Rashidi said at least 40 drivers picketed outside the airport last Friday, and expects even more to show up today.
When Aéroports de Montréal granted Taxelco a contract to start operating 400 cabs at the airport in May 2025, Rashidi said the company began charging cab drivers $4 for every client picked up from the airport, on top of a $195 fee per week. He said cab drivers previously paid a $100 monthly fee for their spot in the airport roster.
“The cost of working regularly at the airport is between $2,300 to $2,500 per month,” once all expenses are considered, he said, adding drivers have “families to feed.”
“We do our best to serve the passengers the best way possible, and what we’re asking Taxelco from their management (is) to sit down and decrease some of these expenses that are giving the owners and drivers a hard time.”
Rashidi wants the drivers and company to find a solution together, but alleges Taxelco management “haven’t been listening to us at all.”
He says the protests will continue “as long as they’re not listening.”
The Gazette reached out to Taxelco for comment, but did not get a response in time for publication.
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