Blue Line seems to run most taxis in Ottawa. They seem to nickel and dime over things like putting a suitcase in front seat that Uber and Lyft won't do. Driver was friendly enough but adhered to policy of extra fees for "excess bags". I would take Uber or Lyft next time, even for an XL vehicle. read more

Take an Uber, even if there is a cab right in front of you at the airport taxi stand. It's cheaper, and if there is something wrong with the service it will be fixed as drivers care about their ratings and Uber takes responsibility. Blue Line is deceitful, incompetent, and outright disrespectful. I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel. I had a lot of luggage and was holding onto my backpack in the back seat, and the driver suggested that I put it in the front seat to give myself more space, which was nice. Note that I have no visibility of my bag now that's in the front seat as I'm in the back. Arrive at my hotel, pay the driver CAD 80 for a CAD 63 ride (a 27% tip) and grab all my luggage. After checking in, I realise my backpack is still in the cab. It's 530pm at this point. I call the taxi company. They try to find the driver / my bag. No success. Keep in mind the bag is in the front seat. It is highly unlikely that the driver hadn't noticed it by the time his shift was over. Takes 3 days for my bag to show up at the lost and found. I ask that the resolve this issue by sending the bag back to me, and they said can only send it back at my own cost - or I can go pick it up myself. Also, that I can't pick up from their office as it's closed the next two days (weekend). On Monday I call them again and ask to speak to a supervisor. Supervisor says the same thing, I have to pay a driver to take the bag to me or pick up the bag myself. Begrudgingly I ask them to send it back to me at my own expense, but to send it at 9pm as I'm not at the hotel. They tell me they have to send it back during office hours (???), even though I'm paying for it myself. We agree to have a car pick up my bag and drop it off at 5pm at my hotel. It doesn't get delivered. When I return to the hotel I call the service centre for an update at 11:15pm. They said they can deliver it to me in 10 mins (so they lied that they can't deliver outside of office hours). At 12 midnight (~45 mins later) I get my bag back, costing me CAD 60.86. Driver even has the nerve to ask for a 15% tip. After this ordeal, both the driver and company have had zero consequences while I've spent hours experiencing incompetence and a company with zero accountability that simply doesn't care about its customers. read more

I don't like the way some of the drivers speak to the (female) passengers. It's disgusting. They act like they are the ones paying you for the ride. The passenger is the boss. So humble yourself and speak to them like you need them. This business is centered on providing service to people. You should be a people person if you are going to do this job. They need to stop coming late for pick up. Showing up 15-20 minutes after booking is unacceptable. I hope robots replace them soon. read more

Outstanding service! Living in Lindenlea, when I need a ride it's a given that I'll call Blue Line. In all sorts of weather they show up early or on time, and the drivers (in my experience) have been consistently courteous and open to suggestions vis-a-vis the choice of route. Thank you Blue Line! read more

In June 2022 I called Uber just after midnight to book a cab for 4:30 a.m. I had a reservation on the 5:30 train. My home is a ten minute drive to the train station and traffic at that hour of the morning is next to nil. To my shock, the estimate for the taxi ride was $70.00. I declined and called Blue Line. Their estimate was $13.37. My recall is that the actual ride was that exact amount. I gave the driver a $20 bill and told him to keep the change: he had just saved me $50.00! Naturally, I haven't called Uber since June 2022. BTW, I always tip taxi drivers generously because I think they deserve it. They have to purchase gas regardless of price increases, Blue Line cabs are usually immaculate inside and out, and the drivers seem more familiar with the city. Also, you are the sole passenger, taken from door to door. Totally worth it from any angle. read more

I am truly surprised at some of the reviews on here. We drove to Ottawa, but needed a taxi back to the hotel last night, after an exhausting walk in 100 degree plus weather. Car was pristine, driver polite, picked us up within 5-8 minutes and called just as they arrived. Spotless car. read more

Always reliable and efficient service when I visit Ottawa. I like being able to pre-book and not worry about it.

Whenever I'm in Ottawa for work, I use the Blue Line Taxi company and have always had positive experiences - I really cannot understand all the negative experiences below? I usually travel by train from Montreal and grab a taxi at the train station exit. There are always plenty of them waiting there and all the drivers so far have been polite and courteous. Wherever I am in Ottawa, if I need to get anywhere I simply call or text their number and get a text immediately telling me that my driver is on his way and the license plate. I highly recommend their prompt service, do not be put off by the bad comments below. read more

Blue Line Taxi - Taxis Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

I waited over 40 minutes for a blue line. They showed up and picked up someone else that did not call for a taxi andnwhnninaddressednitnwoth the driver he told me off and said inwas a bitch Just order an Uber and save yourself from the lack of accountability.....they do not care read more

If I could do a lesser star I would. June first I took a cab from George street to my home on Donald Street at 4 pm driver took the 417 got off and on 3 times, one going the wrong way then yelled at me when I questioned him. When we got to my Building he made a point of telling me how much money he saved me. Then tried to add his own tip on the debt machine, I told him no tip and he started to yell at me, when I told him it was because I was a woman alone in a cab not knowing where he was taking me. He took back the machine fixed it to the right amount and I got out as quickly as I could. So even in day time woman please be careful read more

The cab drivers are mostly immigrants who mind their own business and mostly have a polite or neutral attitude which I like. There are the occasional who try to scam you into taking longer routes. I pre-booked yesterday and the cab driver never showed up, which made me late to my appointment. The dispatcher is useless and RUDE and extremely unhelpful. She told me to wait, when I had already waited for 5 minutes. Wasn't she supposed to check to see what was going on or cancel and offer another taxi? I ended up taking the decision to cancel the cab and called back, and she was still rude and inconsiderate that I would be late for my appointment, it was all about her. With the hit that the industry has taken with the presence of UBER, this is NOT helping them at all. It would be better to have a friendlier dispatcher, or just replace her with AI. The taxi service is about brining people from point A to point B as efficiently, safely and professionally as possible. On the most part, the drivers are fulfilling their roles, but as far as dispatching, troubleshooting and customer service, this company deserves a zero. I will be switching companies and even consider Uber because at this point, I have no more patience for rude people who can't even perform a simple job that requires no education. read more

I tried getting a taxi Sat evening and I got the worst service. Was told 5-10 min but when I called back after 15 min was told by the bitch on the phone it will be about 25-30min and should not have been told 5-10. Well I was told 5-10 and my mom was running out of her charge for her oxygen. Did not care and hung up on me. Horrible service read more

I've rarely had problems with Blue Line Taxi before. The drivers are often knowledgeable of the city and they don't try to "take you for a ride" in order to milk more money from you. The drivers are rarely talkative, but that's not necessarily a bad thing for some people. Their prices are fair (heh), as they seem to be approximately the same as other cab companies in the city. Actually, I have a particularly good story about Blue Line that involved my roommate a couple weeks ago. She left her card holder, complete with credit card, in the back of his cab, went out to eat with her friends and didn't notice until much later. When she got back home, she called Blue Line to report her missing cards. She almost instantly got a response from her driver. He told her he remembered her because of her beautiful smile and he actually volunteered to deliver her cards to her home. This was a pretty happy ending in circumstances that would have normally gone sour. My personal bad story about Blue Line is something I don't enjoy that they seem to do the most out of any cab company. If I'm walking alone at night, especially with no one around, they often slow down and kinda stalk me down the road for awhile. This actually happens quite often and my friend has experienced the same thing. Best case scenario: they're trying to tempt us to take a cab instead of walk. However, doing this to a girl alone at night only ends up freaking her out and it's never appreciated. read more

Blue Line Taxi - photo from their website - Taxis Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

I think I'll update every time I ride Blue Line just to be fair to them. I called at 3pm for a 4pm cab in the market were there are a ton of cabs. My cab arrives late. I'm going to just copy and paste my snippet of my Beck's Taxi review: "Vastly different from my Ottawa cab ride yesterday were the driver popped the trunk and sat in the car for me to put my bags in. When I saw\t down he immediately dialed someone on his cell and talked at a tone in which if I was on the phone I'm sure he'd given me crap or asked me to stop and talked the whole ride to my destination. Popped the trunk at my destination and sat there. You suck blue line." read more

Blue line is a hit a miss. The driver can either make the ride bearable, or make it miserable. Called for a cab around 8:00pm, the driver was on his blue-tooth arguing during the whole 5 minute ride. It was awkward. The ride home at 3:00am was different, the driver was fantastic, sent my cell phone an automated message to let me know that the taxi would be arriving within 1 minute and 30 seconds. The driver explained that those messages are sent out to customers during the winter, especially during rainy or icy conditions. This driver was friendly, and chatty, and made the ride comfortable. Both cabs that I took that evening arrived within minutes after calling, which is fantastic!! Overall, you never know what kind of personality your driver will have when you call Blue Line, but the cabs are quick, and the seats are comfortable. read more

I haven't taken a cab in years, but I was working late and was provided a taxi chit from my employer. First of all the auto voice recognition when calling for a cab never recognizes the pickup address and you have to speak to a person. The pickup arrival was quick. The car was clean. What I didn't like was the speeding and weaving in and out of traffic. Sure I would like to get to my destination fast, but not at the expense on my safety or others on the road. The driver also did not have his face mask covering his nose the entire ride. After arriving at my destination and parking, the driver left the meter running while I filled out my taxi chit. Things like this is the main reason I refuse to use taxi services in Ottawa. I will personally stick to Uber, Lyft or public transit than ride in a taxi. I know this one ride does speak for all drivers, but from what I see while on the roads and reading through other reviews I'm not surprised with the low ratings. read more

WARNING: Nonexistent service near Carleton U and Consistently lying phone agents. Had the same problem two days in a row. No cab shows up even after an hour. Whenever you call they say that they "are tracking the cab, it is around the corner, five minutes away." Should have caught it, one time the cab number they gave was "Cab 268." 268 is a bar! The second time, I asked a girl also at the taxi stand, and she said she was also waiting for Blue Line and they told her "Around the corner, five minutes away." I explained the situation, we both called Capital Taxi, were both out of there in ten minutes. Multiple instances, multiple customers, many different operators, same lie every time. Something is systemically wrong there. Use capital. read more

We needed a cab on a Saturday afternoon. We had finally flagged one down with the help of our hotel concierge staff. As soon as we got in the car, the driver was complaining about how many parties he drove past to answer our call and pick us up. He then started complaining about having to take us because we were a group of 4. Not really sure why he was complaining about this as his car was able to seat all of us safely. We arrived at the destination and paid him in cash with a 25% tip. He had the audacity to complain that we did not tip him enough and he demanded more money!!! As we were in a rush, we gave him MORE seeing as we felt extremely uncomfortable and just wanted to get out of the car. Once we got out, we realized that he drove us to the completely WRONG destination. We are not from Ottawa so we didn't realize until we walked up to the building. Not only was this cab difficult to get, he complained the entire way, was not pleasant, and ended up being horrible at his job. Do yourself a favour and get an Uber instead. read more

I called Blue Line today and I had to give the driver directions, his car reeked of stale cigarette smoke and was very cool almost to the point of rudenesss. read more

Because of their oligopolistic status in the market, I've been taking bluelines for over a decade. Yes, there are a couple of other taxi companies in Ottawa but 80 percent of the vehicles on the road belong to blueline and the other guys are just harder to find. The one star is not a rating of the cab experience once you get in the vehicle. Like cabs throughout North America, you get better drivers and worse drivers. It's just luck of the draw. They do their job and get you there, more or less intact. You do your job by paying the fare and not throwing up in the vehicle ($50 fee if you do, so the card says...) In fact, Ottawa bluelines, in my opinion, tend to be slightly cleaner and slightly newer than most cabs in Toronto or Washington. My one star rating is because of the derisive and disdainful attitude of the dispatchers. Blueline is one of the few businesses where you hope you get the robotic operator when you call because at least there is a chance of a friendly voice. Somehow, the live dispatcher always makes you feel like an idiot for calling a cab when it is too early, too late, too cold, too hot, too dark or too light out. Heaven help you if you are standing in front of your house, watching fleets of cabs drive by 15 minutes after you called for a taxi, and you call the dispatcher back just to make sure they got the right address. Instead of some gentle reassurance that your car is on the way, you are more likely to be get snapped at and told "It's only been 14 minutes, not 15 minutes..." More and more people I know are going with the 'entrepreneur' option of taking a business card from a driver and calling him up directly when they need a lift. Yeah, it's not the "right thing to do" but neither is treating your customers like pond scum. read more

Company is wildly inconsistent as one other reviewer said. Have had plenty of perfectly fine trips, but in the past couple of weeks I've had really terrible drivers. One made us stop and get cash from a Mac's after he left his credit machine at home, he also drove 145-150kph down the Queensway. Today I had one demand I cancel my cab after I got into it, even though I said no. He kept pestering me the entire way to the destination. Basically, not a bad company, but some of the drivers are completely messed up. read more

My father in law and brother in law went to the Ottawa Senators game on Friday, Nov 15. They took a cab there, and the driver said that there would be plenty of cabs after the game. He was right. But he forgot to mention that none of the drivers would take you unless you were going downtown. My father and brother live in Kanata and no one would take them home. They were stuck outside. Luckily I was done work early so I could pick them up. I'm absolutely disgusted by the way your driver's treat people. What a horrible company. Also, teach your employees how to drive. What a joke. read more

I was sold the moment he got out of the car to load our two rolley bags. Wow. Sure wish Vancouver taxis worked this way! read more

Blue Line Taxi - Taxis Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Having lived in Ottawa for so long, I can say this taxi line is not good and should be avoided. If you have never traveled to Ottawa before I will update you with what has been going on with this taxi company. They have been at war with the popular ride sharing app "UBER" over unfair licensing. They've made protests and have threatened drivers and passengers of UBER verbally and some have turned violent. Drivers in this company are very rude and drive like maniacs. But that's not to say they're all bad, they do have a lot of nice drivers. I've been cut off by these taxi drivers before. Find another way of transport. Things to keep in mind (to sum it up) UBER is illegal in Ottawa Blue line Taxi drivers are most of the time rude, cabs are not clean! Follow the links below and form your own opinion http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/09/04/video-shows-cabbie-harassing-uber-customer-at-ottawa-train-station http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-police-investigate-alleged-taxi-vs-uber-video-1.3226220 Cheers, play it smart. Update: The way Uber is being viewed in Ottawa is changing. City hall is looking at allowing Uber to operate in Ottawa legally. Don't be afraid to use uber in Ottawa. It's a great service and I use it all the time. read more

Blue Line is OK. There is nothing spectacular about it, everything's pretty average, from it's vehicles to service to rates. They're all over, so it's fairly easy to hail one down or to just call for one, though they don't always come when they say they will. With about $40 in your pocket, you can generally get from one end of the city to the other, so it's not too expensive. The main factor that will determine your taxi experience is the driver. Some know the streets far better than others, most will help you with your luggage, and you have half that will talk to you and half that won't. There's a huge difference between friendliness and impropriety, though. Some drivers are very sweet and professional, while I've caught others trying to look up my skirt. There are also ones that will talk on the phone while they drive you, making it harder if you need to give special instructions about where you're going. read more

The first time I took blue line, I needed to go in my home to get the money. By the time I went outside the car was no longer there. My phone was left in the car... I walked around for a while to see if he parked somewhere else. I finally got ahold of him the next day and he said I never came back outside... He came to give me my phone back but would only give it to me if I payed him 60$...... My cab ride was only 18$ and he wanted me to pay him for my phone. I ended up giving him 40$ just so I could get my phone back. It was a very bad experience. The second time I went with blue line, The cab driver I got was rude. At the end the debit machine had an automatic tip. I guess they need that because they don't get tipped well. But who would give a good tip after having rude driver. I just didn't have a good experience both times. read more

I called blue line for a ride today, not only did the operator NOT process my call, when I called back 20 minutes later I asked to speak to a supervisor the opporater refused and hung up on me. I resorted to calling an Uber, great service and no incompetence. Blue line has the worst costumer service, is completely unprofessional and will never again use their services. read more

Second time this company has left me in the lurch because their driver won't leave their house until they are good and ready. The GPS link the company texts you shows exactly where their car is and it moving. I have an emergency appointment to get to and the driver dispatched to take me to my appointment was apparently too interested to interrupt his tv program (I called at 9:30am and he didn't "move" until 10am). By the time Blue Line called me back to say he was leaving, I had just hanged up from calling another cab. I am NEVER calling Blue Line again. I would like to support our cabbies, but UBER would probably be better. Blue Line is Undependable! read more

Yesterday I was stuck in the rain at Gladstone and Preston for almost 2 hours waiting for a taxi. I called Blue Line twice and they never showed up. The dispatch does not speak adequate English and they sound bored. Even when I called Blue Line from home to get to my therapy site the operator got the time wrong. read more

Wildly inconsistent. When I first moved to Ottawa I had a driver pick me up at the train station. Instead of taking the 417, he took Riverside which added $10 more than the trip usually costs. He either took advantage of the fact that I did not know the city yet or was clueless himself. Most the drivers I've had talk on their phone the whole ride but most will help with luggage. I take their cabs bi-weekly because its about the only ones you can find at the Via station. read more

Extremely rude taxi driver. I accidentally took my card out of the machine before the transaction was completed, and the taxi driver asked me in a very condescending manner "why did you take card out of machine?" and continued to sigh and shake his head at me. I still gave him a 15% tip that he did not deserve and he showed no sign of gratefulness despite the fact that I'm feeding him and his family. Extremely dissatisfied and never using this service again. I will not recommend Blue Line to any of my friends or family. Just a word of advice to this company - you should at least put some effort into finding some decent people (or at least filter out the idiots) who represent your company because your reputation is going down the drain. Look at all the other reviews on here and every other site - they're FAR from flattering. read more

Feeling a bit insecure with leaving my credit card on Uber, I decided to go back to Blue Line. I actually had my credit card compromised, but, basically, Blue Line is STILL not worth it. I gave them an ample chance, for about 3 weeks (wherein I cab almost every day), and here's what came up: 1. They don't have a good app like Uber does 2. When I called the last time, the first driver claimed to have buzzed my apt but never did, and simply disappeared. The second driver did the same, even though I was already waiting outside. etc etc etc etc a weekly story 3. When you ask for compensation, i.e., a discounted ride after something like that, they will laugh at you. I had one lady literally tell me I had a half priced cab on the way, and made me wait 45 minutes until I realized she was punking me. Horrible, horrible, horrible customer service and service over all, especially compared to Uber. read more

The taxi driver was lazy as hell. I was trying to secure my baby's car seat in the taxi and the seat belt kept malfunctioning. The taxi driver just sat there for the next 2 minutes while I was struggling with that seat belt until I asked for his help. He reluctantly got out and pulled the seat belt a bit and got back to his driver seat very quickly. Then the seat belt malfunctioned again and the driver just sat there again until I asked for his help. I had something in the trunk and the driver didn't open the trunk for me to take back my stuff and almost drove off until I hurriedly signaled him to open the trunk. I naively thought that taxi drivers would provide better service and I was so wrong. It is not a surprise that taxis are not popular these days. read more

Terrible service! The drivers will tell you off and use profanity if you don't leave them a tip. No other city that I've used a taxi in are the drivers so abusive and have a sense of entitlement. While in Ottawa use another cab company other then Blue Line read more

Is the taxi service in this town generally abysmal or do I have bad luck? Ride 1: I was as downtown as downtown can be. I called Blue Line and was told that the wait would be between five and 10 minutes. Fifteen minutes later, still no cab. A Blue Line cab pulled up with a passenger in it. When he got out I got in. It was at the exact address that I had given, and it was a cab from the same company. Logically, this was the cab intended for me, non? The driver nearly had a meltdown saying that she wasn't supposed to pick me up. I have no idea what that means. I gave her the address of where I was going, well within city limits. She had no idea how to get there and asked me repeatedly for directions. I had to call a family member to get on the computer to provide directions. She still couldn't figure it out and didn't recognize the names of any of the streets. She questioned me as to who was giving my directions, randomly throwing out "Is that your daughter? Is that your husband? Is your friend on the phone?" Then she asked where I live. I was looking for a ride, not the start of a personal relationship. After she turned around the correct street four times I told her that I would get out and walk the rest of the way. Ride 2, same day: We waited 35 minutes after our first call to call back. They said that it would be another 4 minutes. Query how they coukd be that precise during the second call, yet fail to mention that it would be 30+ during the first. I told the driver the route that I wanted to take but he wanted to go a different way. I must emphasize that we were driving on all major streets yet he seemed lost. Despite the fact that he had GPS in the car, he was looking it up on his phone. This was a safety problem as he was looking at his phone for most of the trip. read more

Warning: Nonexistent service, consistent lies by staff, beware fictional "cab 268" Same problem two days in a row. Called a cab near Carleton University. Half an hour later, I call in. They say "we're tracking can 268, 5 minutes away. At the one hour-mark, still no sign. (Should have caught the lie, 268 is the name of an Ottawa bar. Next day, same location. At 30 minutes I call in. "5 minutes away." No cab number. There is another woman standing at stand for about the same amount of time. I ask her if she is waiting for Blue Line. She says yes. She says the told her, say it with me "around the corner, 5 minutes away." I explain the situation. We call Capital Taxi, both out of there in under 10 minutes. She needed to catch a train, they abandoned her. Consistent nonexistent service, and the same lie from every operator. DO NOT RELY ON BLUE LINE. ANYONE ELSE. read more

I had the horrible experience of taking bleu line for my transportation. Please don't. West way is so much better. With drivers like this, no wonder everyone is opting for alternate means of transportation. Bleu line taxi #509 you are rude and inconsiderate and I'm surprised that the company hasn't realized it yet! Swerving in and out of traffic without signaling is but a few of your shortcomings. I will not use Blue Line taxi again, mainly because of you! Please vet your employees prior to letting them use your company name, in the end the company itself ends up suffering the consequences of their employees behavior on the road. Maybe a few lessons on kindness, proper driving techniques and patience. read more

Unreliable, no courtesy to keep the customer updated. Had me waiting for an hour... and I'm still waiting!!! Called four times and all those times, I've been hearing that it will be here shortly! Got me all pissed!!! read more

Not great. Not even good. Just OK. I've gotten some friendly drivers, but they're pretty much a rarity with Blueline; the majority of the drivers seem, as others have said, to be chatting away on the phone, at first making it hard for you to know whether they're addressing you or not. That is, until you ask, "Pardon?" when they impatiently explain to you they're on the phone. I live in Ottawa South, and it can cost $13-18 to get downtown, depending on the driver. read more

I have no issue with the drivers. But the dispatcher ? Omg. So rude. You can hear how much she hates her job. With her snobby mono tone greeting "blue line taxi. What do you want" followed by me asking for a cab. She then sighs and Rudley says "name and address" that's it. So I tell her and followed by "k it's in its way" and hung up. Such a snob. I hate that I had to use this service because of how rude she is. The drivers are always nice. Non issues with them. They make small talk and play music for you. No probs. but they really need to have dispatchers who can speak with a smile in their voice. read more