Taxi Diamond sold, creating new giant in Montreal taxi industry

The largest taxi company in Montreal has been bought by a private equity firm dedicated to greening the taxi industry.

Taxelco, a division ofAlexandreTaillefer's investment firm,announced Tuesday that it had acquired Taxi Diamond. With its existing stake inTaxi HochelagaandTo Taxi,Taxelco will now control roughly 40 per cent of the Montreal taxi market.

Taxi Diamond has a fleet of 1,720 vehiclesand operates mostly in the downtown and western parts of the island.

It is the most aggressive move yet byTaxelco, a subsidiary ofXPNDCapital. It boughtTaxiHochelaga, Montreal'ssecond-largest taxi company, last year. In November it launchedTo Taxi, a fleet of fully electric taxis.

• To Taxi electric cab fleet hits the streets of downtown Montreal

"To is a phenomenal success but we didn't have enough supply,"Taillefertold Radio-Canada.

"It's hard to get a taxi in rush hour, and we quickly understood that we needed around 1,500 to 1,600 vehicles to meet the expectations of Montrealers."

Taxi Diamond's management team will remain in place, and its drivers will remain self-employed workers.To Taxi's drivers are salaried workers, earning$15 an hour.

Taxi Diamond had already announced in April its intention to transition its fleet tohybrid or electric cars. That process will continue underTaxelco, which wants to have 2,000 electric taxis on Montreal roads by 2020.

• Taxi Diamond plans to go electric and hybrid

Taillefer, who is best known to many Quebecers as one of the "dragons"on Radio-Canada's version of Dragons'Den,saidTaxelco is eyeing further expansion into the taxi-busand school-bus markets.

"We have the ambition to offer citizens of big cities transport solutions that are integrated with public transit and bike-sharing systems," he added.

"We want to provide Montrealers with a solution so that they can get rid of their second carand even their first car."