Blueline driver in alleged taxi vs. Uber video on voluntary leave
'Avoid violence,' Blueline drivers warned days before alleged taxi vs. Uber video
An Ottawa Blueline taxi driver is now on voluntary leave after he was caught threatening and swearing at someone believed to be an Uber driver and a passenger in a video widely circulated online, his dispatcher Coventry Connections says.
Coventry said it is co-operating with police and city officials and the driver will remain on leave until a "review can be completed by all parties and after full assessment of the authorities."
The video, believed to have been recorded around 1:30 a.m. Saturday outside the Chateau Laurier, claims to show an Ottawa taxi driver threatening an Uber driver and passenger.
Amrik Singh, who heads the union for Ottawa's taxi drivers, confirmed Monday the man shouting threats in the video is a Blueline driver. Ottawa police launched an investigation over the weekend after a third-party complaint but said it cannot confirm an Uber driver and passenger were the ones threatened because neither has come forward.
The video, which appears to have been taken from inside a vehicle, shows a man shouting at the driver.
WARNING: The video below contains profane language.
"If I see you again, you're dead meat. Go follow the law and get a real job. I'm not joking with you," the man tells the driver before holding open the back door and shouting at the passenger.
"Take a real taxi you f---ing cheapskate," he said. Both sides threaten to call police in the profane exchange recorded for one minute and 21 seconds.
'Be careful,' taxi drivers told
Blueline drivers had been warned by Coventry "to be careful and to avoid violence" in relation to Uber drivers days before the video surfaced online.
"We cannot allow a company like Uber to work illegally. However, we cannot take the law into our own hands," said a memo to Blueline taxi drivers dated Sept. 8.
"If you see an Uber vehicle picking up customers, please do not approach that customer of that driver. We have to continue taking a professional stance."
On Sunday, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said he was "disgusted" by the video. He also said he asked city staff to try to identify the man in the video and to find out if the city has "the legal ability to remove his licence," if he turned out to be a taxi driver.
This summer, Watson compared a group of taxi drivers to thugs after they went undercover as Uber passengers and posted vigilante-style videos of the rides online.
The drivers said they were trying to collect evidence against Uber drivers, who operate without the required licence.