Montreal's taxi strike: 7 things you need to know

Hundreds of Montreal taxi drivers will protest Wednesday,vowing to block traffic to send a message to the province that the ride-hailing service UberX should be outlawed.

• Montreal taxi drivers to strike, block traffic Wednesday

Here's everything you need to know to avoid the disruptions and help start your day off smoothly.

1. Time

The planned protest is expected to get underway at 6:30 a.m., according to the Regroupement des travailleurs autonomesMtallos (RTAM), the union representing Montreal's 4,000 taxi drivers.

2. What streets will be blocked?

The exact location of the affected areas will only be announced later this morning.

What we do know from RTAM is that squads of taxis will block access to areas where it says"illegal transporters"drop off and pick up passengers.

3. What won't be blocked?

No bridges or hospitals will be blocked. Montreal police also sent out a news release Tuesday reminding taxi drivers that it is also illegal to block access to airports.

4. Can I still get a cab?

It depends on the company.RTAM says that some taxis will still be available for clients.

However, you won't be able to get a cab from Champlain Taxi. George Boussios, the president of Champlain Taxi, said that taxis will be at stands Wednesday, but Champlain drivers will refuse to transport clients. He also added that Champlain's fleet of 400 cabs will not be blocking streets.

5. Can I call Uber?

Yes. Uber said its drivers will be out on the roads today during the taxi drivers' protest.

6. Why are taxi drivers protesting?

They are upset that the province failed to honour its "simple demand to have Uber cease operations during the parliamentary commission looking into the matter," said RTAM spokesman Benoit Jugand.

Last week, Quebec's new transport minister, Jacques Daoust, said that Uber and other technologies are "here to stay" and called for a parliamentary commission to study how to level the playing field between taxis and ride-hailing apps.

But the taxi industry filed a request in court for a permanent injunction to have UberX banned and its mobile app disabled in Quebec.

7. Is this the last pressure tactic?

No. The union representing Montreal's taxi drivers promises more pressure tactics are on the way.