Bandit cabs cause concern

By-law services say illegal taxis are cashing in on the transit strike

By Mallory Clarkson

clar0475@algonquincollege.com

Illegal taxis may be out of sight, but they are definitely not out of the minds of many Algonquin students.

With a base fair ranging in cost from $3 to $5, the popularity of bandit taxis has been growing since the OC Transpo strike. But is it worth the risk?

Bandit taxis are not carpoolers. They are underground companies or individual cabs that undercut legitimate taxi companies with the promise of lower costs.

Linda Anderson, manager of the enforcement and inspections branch of Ottawa’s by-law services, says she is concerned with the public safety issue that comes along with bandit taxis.

There is no way to guarantee quality control as these drivers may have no camera, criminal record checks, no proof of insurance or valid drivers license, and the vehicle may not be mechanically sound.

If caught, the driver faces a $500 fine. However, Anderson said that by-law services try to take the driver to court in order to increase the fine to $1,000. They do this through advanced sentencing called ‘Part 3’ to discourage illegal taxis.

However, since complaints are rarely put through to the by-law services but rather to the Ottawa Police, investigations are scarce. There is presently only one ongoing investigation.

Bandit taxis are advertised through business cards left at bars, said Anderson, which most often catch the attention of students.

Kenton Winn, 19, a first year human and community studies student, said that he uses this service once a week to go downtown on the weekend. He said that it’s a “service that lots of [his] friends know about.”

Though only finding out about it last year through friends, Winn, who has never seen any advertisements for it, said that a lot more people know about it.

The Times went downtown on Saturday Jan. 17 to see how easy it is to find bandit cabs. Not only were no advertisements found, but people were unwilling to share any information on bandit taxis. Whichever way people find out, they don’t seem to care about the safety and legal issues surrounding bandit taxis.

“I didn’t know it was illegal,” said Winn, which was a common response from students when told bandit taxis are illegal.

This is a problem that many students across Ottawa are plagued with.

Coventry Connections is a company that owns and operates Blueline, Capital and DJ’s Taxis. The Chief Executive Officer Hanif Patni, said the perception many students have is that it’s easier to use a bandit cab. He said bandit cabs have no system of governance, with drivers who are not trained, and usually charge more despite popular beliefs.

Coventry Connections is working with the By-law services to “educate and inform the student bodies...[of the] dangers of these cabs.”

He said that the company is not making a lot of money off the strike as legitimate taxis prices are regulated by the City and drivers do not make a lot of money when they are stuck in traffic.