US Taxi Businesses Are Booming Thanks To Canada's Quarantine Hotel Loophole

Canadians are using American taxis to cross the land border and avoid a hotel stay. 🇨🇦🇺🇸

US Taxi Businesses Are Booming Thanks To Canada's Quarantine Hotel Loophole
Senior Editor

A loophole that allows travellers to avoid Canada's hotel quarantine by entering the country via land has caused a huge surge in business for U.S. taxi services.

In fact, a new report from Reuters found that some taxi companies are doing more business driving Canadians across the border into Canada than they are with American clients.

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A Buffalo-based taxi service told Reuters it gave nine different rides across the border to Canadian passengers on just one Florida flight.

"We've had so many requests for border crossings that we're turning them down," the manager said, explaining that calls for border crossings come in from 6:00 a.m. until midnight.

While all air travellers entering Canada are required to stay for at least three nights in a government-approved quarantine hotel, a loophole allows Canadians to touch down in the nearest U.S. airport and then enter Canada via land.

Land passengers are not required to quarantine in a hotel, thus saving travellers as much as $2,000 per person. While the Canada-U.S. border remains closed to non-essential travel, taxis are considered an essential service.

Helena Hanson
Senior Editor
Helena Hanson is a Senior Editor for Narcity Media, leading the Travel and Money teams. She previously lived in Ottawa, but is now based in the U.K.
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