Blue Line Taxi drivers in Ottawa begin strike action

Blue Line Taxi drivers hit the picket lines on Friday after the company raised its fees. CTV’s Dylan Dyson reports.

You may have trouble hailing a cab in Ottawa, as Blue Line Taxi drivers engage in strike action.

Unifor announced its members at Blue Line Taxi voted 93.6 per cent in favour of going on strike at 2:30 p.m. Friday, potentially impacting service across Ottawa.

The strike comes after Coventry Connections, the owner of Blue Line Taxi, notified drivers it was increasing the rent for stand and plate fees starting in October.

“Our members have no choice but to take strike action,” Lana Payne, Unifor national president, said in a statement.

“The employer has refused to bargain in good faith, insisting on dictating the terms of the collective agreement instead of negotiating one. Workers deserve respect, not ultimatums.”

According to Unifor, Blue Line Taxi is demanding a 20 per cent increase in taxi stand fees, which is the amount drivers must pay the company to pick up fares.

“We’re seeing our market share decrease year by year. We’re seeing Uber take more business. We’re seeing all the people that used to take taxis just migrate away from taxis,” said Bahdon Issa, President of Unifor local 1688 in Ottawa.

“We still believe taxi is an essential service for the city of Ottawa. We provide services to the disabled, the elderly.”

The president of Coventry Connections tells CTV News Ottawa the two sides had been negotiating for close to eight months without an agreement.

“At the end of the day, it’s been 10 years, over 10 years, since we’ve put in an increase for the fees that they pay for their dispatching services,” Way said Friday afternoon.

“So, we decided to impose working conditions as of yesterday, that would start in October. They’re nothing. Nothing in what we’re proposing is unreasonable.”

Coventry Connections is increasing the stand rent for Blue Line drivers from $435 a month to $550 a month in year one, $600 in year two and $650 in year three.

“It’s $3.50 a day increase,” Way said. “Apart from that, it’s pretty much stayed the same. So, to go on strike, we find that a little strange.”

Blue Line Taxi calls the stand rent increase “fair modest and essential,” adding it will allow the company to sustain its driver-first programs, “modernize and stay competitive with ride-share services,” expand services and deliver all planned benefits.

According to the company, the increase in the stand rent will secure accounts with the airport, train station, government departments, hospitals, hotels and Para Transpo, and ongoing investments in hybrid taxis and hybrid accessible vans to reduce operating costs and fuel consumption.

In other cities, the stand rent is closer to $800, according to Blue Line Taxi.

Way insists it’s not a lockout, and Blue Line will be open for business.

“Those that decide not to, work, to protest what we’re doing, we respect them, but we encourage the rest of the drivers to keep working,” Way said.

According to a memo sent to Blue Line Taxi drivers by Coventry Connections, the pick-up fee to be paid by drivers for picking up a fare at the airport will increase from $5.71 on July 1, 2025 to $5.76 on July 1, 2026 and $5.81 on July 1, 2027.

“It is our view that these changes will allow us to provide a more competitive and customer centred taxi services in the coming years,” the memo said.

However, the union said a fee hike is a “direct pay cut for drivers.”

“Our members have shown overwhelming support for fair bargaining, and we will not accept an employer that refuses to meet us at the table and tries to impose its own terms. We are united in standing up for fairness,” Unifor Local 1688 President Bahdon Issa said.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Dylan Dyson