Montreal taxi bureau has seized 40 UberX vehicles, Report

The City of Montreal’s taxi bureau is cracking down on ride-sharing service UberX and has seized 40 vehicles from drivers in recent weeks, prompting the company to say it will fight back in court.

It’s part of a plan to crack down on a new mobile application called UberX, which allows people to use their personal cars to give rides for a fee.

“It is against the rules for transporting people in the province,” said Alain Rochon, the director general of Montreal’s Taxi Bureau. “When we intervene, we give a ticket, and we seize the cars.”

Rochon said drivers are fined $500, and then must pay about $1,000 to get their cars out of an impound lot. The taxi bureau must get police to impound the cars, so it is asking the provincial transport minister to give it the power to seize cars. It’s also asking the province to make the fines stiffer for illegal transportation.

Transport Minister Robert Poëti said Monday the province supports the city’s crackdown on UberX.

“I support them totally,” he said. “It’s very clearly illegal transportation. These people don’t pay for (taxi) permits. It’s unfair competition.”

For his part, Jean-Nicolas Guillemette, the general manager of Uber Montreal, said he stands by his drivers and will help them fight their fines.

“People want this service,” he said. “Uber won’t leave. If it’s not us, someone else will be doing this, so we need a new regulatory framework for it.”

He challenged both Poëti and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre to try out UberX before rushing to outlaw the service.

Agencies/Canadajournal