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Haitian taxi drivers invest more than a million in Pie-IX

Stripped of the value of their permits by the adoption, under a gag order, of Law-17 in October 2019, Haitian taxi drivers are doing mechanics with the compensation jackpot they obtained from the Quebec government.

In total, 35 taxi owners, plus about twenty individuals, have pooled funds to start “Garage Pam’m”, an automobile mechanics company that can accommodate a dozen cars for repair on boul. Pius IX.

“We signed a lease with an option to buy,” confirms Wilson Jean-Paul, one of the taxi owners involved in the project, to the newspaper.

The initial asking price for the former Touchette garage is 1 million 650 thousand to be reduced to 1 million 250 thousand today, due to the layoff of employees followed by the closure of the business.

Wilson Jean-Paul gives us a guided tour of Garage Pam’m on Pie-IX which can accommodate up to ten vehicles being repaired at the same time.

In order to acquire the building, Garage Pam’m must find $300,000 as a down payment for the transaction. More than 200,000 are said to be available now.

“By April, we want to be an owner,” hopes Wilson Jean-Paul, one of the current leaders.

In addition to the 54 people behind the process, the company says it is open to other investments from the Haitian community.

Recall that the business model of the new company is based on more than 1,500 Haitian taxi owners, who, if they use Garage Pam’m services, should be profitable.

Due to work on boul. Pie-IX, Garage Pam’M is struggling to welcome customers. They also offer a tire storage service in winter and summer.

Garage Pam’m: contributing differently

Wilson Jean-Paul, manager of Pam’m and one of its founders shows one of the polycarbonate partitions separating the cabin from the car. Photo: Félix Lacerte-Gauthier

With a view to contributing to the fight against COVID, the Pam’m garage, located on Pie-IX, has started installing partitions to separate the cabs from taxi cars.

“Our goal is to separate the driver from the customer. It helps protect everyone. No taxi should run without it,” explains Wilson Jean-Paul, the manager of the garage and one of its founders.

Each panel, based on polycarbonate, is adapted according to the brand of the car. “We still leave a small space at the bottom to allow the Interac machine to pass,” adds Mr. Jean Paul.

It was after the first weeks of the pandemic, after the closure of all non-essential services, that the idea came up.

In the early days, Pam’m mechanics installed Plexiglas partitions, which they cut themselves on-site. Nevertheless, the task was complicated and the material was not ideal.

Through Yung Cuong, owner of a para-adapted taxi company, Mr. Jean Paul was put in contact with AMP Digital, which manufactures polycarbonate partitions. The latter has been providing it for a week now.

“Plexiglass is very rigid, while polycarbonate is more flexible, compares to Mr. Jean Paul. It is less dangerous in the event of an accident since it bends rather than breaks.

Difficulties

The crisis has been difficult for Pam’m, while its clientele has become scarce. The work currently underway on Pie-IX is not helping as the garage is only accessible through its rear entrance, through a maze of one-way streets.

The garage was originally created after around 30 taxi drivers and around 20 other investors got together to raise funds needed to launch it.

“Our turnover is a third of what it was, laments Mr. Jean Paul. It’s a lot, but we are working to get through this period and are convinced that we will eventually return to our normal rhythm.

He adds that he is looking at the various government aid programs that could apply to Pam’m. The installation of partitions is nevertheless for him a way of adapting to the crisis, while cars are driving less.

For Benoît Moïse, a taxi driver, the installation was essential, and he is quite satisfied with the result. “I work in front of the CHUM. There are many cases of COVID. It allows me to protect myself,” he says.

Driving a paratransit, Jean-Guy Kernison also had the partition put up, although he attaches less importance to it. “If the person was behind me, I didn’t really see the danger.” He adds that he will return to the garage to adjust the installation so that he can no longer move his seat back.

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Garage Pam’m: When unity is strength

Wilson Jean-Paul is one of the founders of the Pam’m garage. In the mornings, he still drives his taxis, before coming to do mechanics, a field in which he also has ten years of experience. Photo: Félix Lacerte-Gauthier

Faced with the fall in the value of their license, more than thirty taxi owners have chosen to invest the compensation received from the provincial government to open their own automobile garages.

Unity is strength. It is the official currency of Haiti. The adage could just as well describe Pam’m garage.

“I believe that wealth comes from the community,” says Gilbert St-Jean, taxi driver and one of the initiators of the project.

Meaning “my garage” in Creole, Pam’m is first and foremost the initiative of members of the Haitian community. Since winter, the business has been welcoming its customers on Pie-IX Boulevard, at the intersection of 42nd Street.

This project is an unusual response to the major crisis that has been shaking the taxi industry for several years. The arrival of Uber and the ensuing deregulation have called into question the ways of operating. The value of taxi permits, bought with tens of thousands of dollars, has dropped drastically.

It is in this context that 35 taxi drivers, as well as some twenty other investors, came together to raise nearly $1 million, in particular by using amounts obtained under the compensation program for holders of a taxi owner’s permit.

“We wanted to invest in an area that we had a certain relationship with. Hence the idea of opening a garage,” summarizes Wilson Jean-Paul, the manager of the place and one of the initiators of the project.

For now, the drivers are continuing their taxi activities. Nevertheless, they hope that the garage will give them some monetary certainty.

A garage for the community

Aware of the rapid evolution of the environment, Mr. Jean Paul wants Pam’m to stay at the forefront of the technological shift. “We want to be able to repair hybrid, electric, and possibly autonomous cars,” he explains. In the yard, a Chinese BYD brand car also allows mechanics to familiarize themselves with an electric motor.

“We want to allow young people of Haitian origin to have a positive example, and perhaps also to take their first step if they want to work in the field,” said Mr. St-Jean. However, he recalls that the garage is open to customers from all communities.

A veteran of the mechanic’s group, while he has worked in the industry for 45 years, Joël-Daniel Lops sees the initiative in a good light. He had first heard of Pam’m through a friend. “There are a lot of Haitians in Montreal. It’s good that we can work with the community. It’s inspiring! »

Also a mechanic, and currently the only member of the team who is not of Haitian origin, Pierre-Paul Métivier saw the opening of the place when he lives nearby, and he decided to offer its services. “I bring diversity,” he jokes. I never had so many investors in a garage. Usually, it is always one owner. »

A significant investment

Barely open, the garage has to deal with the vagaries of the work on Pie-IX. Mr. Jean Paul nevertheless prefers to see an opportunity.

Currently, Pam’m rents its location. This a point that Mr. Jean Paul would like to change soon, while he is busy raising the additional $1.3 million that will be needed to purchase the building.

“Renting is a must,” he believes. It teaches us how to build a clientele, train a team of mechanics, and understand Quebec tax standards. It allows us to tame these things quietly. »

An additional difficulty is added while Pie-IX Boulevard is still under construction, making the garage more difficult to access. Nevertheless, Mr. Jean Paul prefers to see a good side to it. “It’s a less coveted place right now, so we’re taking advantage of it so we can have it now. It would have been difficult to have this location once the work was completed. »