Protest by Uber drivers could cause traffic delays at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga

A protest by Uber and other rideshare drivers planned for Thursday afternoon at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga is expected to cause traffic delays in and around the airport.

Pearson officials said in a post to social media that travellers arriving at the airport for departing flights on Thursday should give themselves extra time due to the protest and related delays. Uber/rideshare drivers held a similar protest at the airport last weekend.

“Toronto Pearson is aware of a planned Uber/rideshare driver protest around the airport this afternoon,” airport officials said in a Thursday morning post to X (formerly Twitter). “The matter is between the drivers and the company, but departing passengers may want to budget extra time due to traffic disruption around the Viscount rideshare lot and at the terminals.”

Pearson officials added that travellers arriving on flights at the airport should visit Pearson’s website for a list of ground transportation options.

Thursday’s planned gathering of rideshare drivers is the second to take place at Pearson in less than a week.

Uber and Lyft drivers held an unplanned protest at Canada’s biggest and busiest airport this past Sunday, rideshare activist and organizer Earla Phillips said earlier in a post to X.

“Not happy with the reduced pay from the upfront fares offered by Uber‘s AI. I don’t blame them for being unhappy with pay,” said Phillips.

Uber rolled out a new pay model in Ontario last week following a launch in B.C. in September, Uber Canada spokesperson Keerthana Rang told INsauga.com.

Drivers will now see the destination and how much they’ll earn before they accept a trip, Rang said. The new approach to fares takes into account various factors related to a driver’s trip, including time and distance, market conditions and real-time demand at the destination.

“Having more information like destination and upfront earnings is the number one thing we hear from drivers and the union we work with (UFCW Canada) about what they want to make their experience driving with Uber better,” Rang said.

The new pay system uses an AI algorithm and drivers have argued it is not clear how the fare is calculated.

— with files from Karen Longwell