Montreal’s Executive Committee has made it mandatory for cab drivers to accept credit and debit card payment from their customers from 15 October 2015.
Aref Salem, who is responsible for transportation at the city’s highest policy-making body, said: "Before, there was no obligation to accept credit (and debit) cards. Now there is."
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Fines for failing to comply with the new policy will range from C$125 to C$375.
"Two thirds of taxi drivers today take electronic payment and we’re asking the others to respect this new bylaw. We’re giving them eight weeks," Salem added.
Uber has presented significant competition for cab drivers in Montreal.
"Our clientele is so fragile. We can’t afford to lose one of them," said Max-Louis Rosalbert, president of the Montreal taxi driver association, Regroupement des propriétaires de taxi de Montréal." So we’re prepared to suffer to keep our clients."
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By GlobalDataThe latest move comes after months of competition heating up between Uber and traditional taxi drivers in Montreal.
Back in April 2015, Wilson Jean Paul, another Montreal taxi driver associate, said: "We lost almost 30 per cent of [customers] since Uber started and we want taxi drivers to stop working for Uber Taxi… So we dedicated this month to do some interventions."
At the time some cab drivers used Uber to track colleagues who were also working for Uber on the side to try and dissuade them from contributing to a business they felt was robbing them of theirs.
