Injunction against Riide prevents pick-up and drop-off at Saskatoon airport
The Saskatoon Airport filed an injunction against Riide, blocking the transportation company from accessing the airport.
The dispute comes after Riide refused to join the airport’s curbside licensing program.
The injunction will ban the company from transfers to and from airports, which will have a major impact on its business. Riide said it would be the customers who would suffer.
“I know we’re going to have problems, because people get into our taxis and don’t always tell us where they’re going to go before they get in,” said Scott Suppes, Riide’s president and CEO.
“I know it’s going to be a problem when we tell them, ‘Oh sorry, we can’t take you to the airport.'”
Suppes said the company plans to fight the injunction and is disappointed that the Saskatoon airport is unwilling to negotiate, despite the 50-year business relationship with her company.
“We’ve had some discussions about whether airport customers are our customers, and we believe they are,” Suppes said.
“They filed suit and asked for an injunction, and they somehow won their case. We don’t agree with the judge’s decision, but the judge decided to put an injunction in place while we settle the lawsuit, which says we can no longer go to the airport.
The Saskatoon Airport Authority (SAA) said all commercial transportation operators must be licensed and all commercial operators are required to remit fees to the airport, which directly supports curbside operations street and training programs.
According to SAA, in August 2020, Riide’s existing license with the airport expired.
“Riide has chosen not to renew its license with the airport as we have moved to an open license format with multiple operators to better serve our customers,” SAA said in a statement.
“SAA has made several attempts over the past three years to bring Riide back to the airport as a licensed operator, without success.”
“Since August 2020, Riide has continued to operate on airport property without a license, meaning it does not pay any collected fees to the airport, which has undermined the integrity of our business program, which four other taxi operators are participating in and currently complying with. »
The airport said customers can continue to use the airport’s four licensed operators, including Captain Taxi, Hey Taxi, Comfort Cabs and Radio Cabs, as well as Uber and city bus services.
“It’s kind of their way or the highway,” Suppes said of the airport. “It’s unfortunate because we had a relationship with them for about 50 years and now it’s over. I don’t know what the consequences of all this will be, but we prefer to reach a logical agreement.”
© 2023 PKBNEWS, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.