A Montreal taxi hailed in the street, picked up at a stand or ordered by phone charges the rates set by Quebec's transport tribunal, the Commission des transports du Quebec (CTQ): a starting price, then a charge per kilometre or per minute, plus a small provincial fee on every trip. App rides on Uber or Lyft are priced differently, but Quebec law requires the app to show you a maximum price in writing, and get your agreement, before a driver is told about your request.
So the real comparison in Montreal is not about hidden prices. It is about how each one behaves when the city is busy: after a Canadiens game, in a snowstorm, on a festival night or on Grand Prix weekend. This guide from the Elly8.net reservations desk sets out the official numbers, explains what drives waits, and says plainly when a taxi or the metro is the right call and when a pre-booked car is worth it.
How much is a taxi in Montreal?
Montreal taxis use the CTQ's province-wide rates: by day (trips starting 5:00 a.m. to 10:59 p.m.) C$4.10 to start, C$2.05 per kilometre and C$0.77 per minute when slow; by night (11:00 p.m. to 4:59 a.m.) C$4.70, C$2.35 and C$0.89. A C$1.05 provincial fee is added to each trip. Taxes are included.
Those are the figures on the CTQ's official rates page, in force since September 12, 2022. The C$1.05 is a C$0.90 fee plus tax, added since January 1, 2021 to fund compensation for former taxi permit holders, and it is explained on a separate sticker. The rate sticker itself is on the rear left window of every qualified car.
See Montreal prices and reserve
How the Montreal taxi meter actually works
The meter never charges distance and time together. It switches between them at what the CTQ calls the transition speed.
- Day rate. Below about 22.5 km/h (14 mph) the meter counts C$0.77 a minute; at or above that speed it counts C$2.05 a kilometre.
- Night rate. Below about 22.7 km/h the meter counts C$0.89 a minute; above it, C$2.35 a kilometre.
In practice that means a ride that moves freely is charged mostly by distance, and a ride crawling behind a delivery truck on Sainte-Catherine is charged by the minute. As arithmetic only, a 5 km daytime ride that keeps moving would be about C$4.10 + (5 x C$2.05) + C$1.05 = C$15.40 before a tip, and any minutes spent below the transition speed add C$0.77 each.
| Rate | Start | Per km (moving) | Per minute (slow or stopped) | Provincial fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day: trips starting 5:00 a.m. to 10:59 p.m. | C$4.10 | C$2.05 | C$0.77 | C$1.05 |
| Night: trips starting 11:00 p.m. to 4:59 a.m. | C$4.70 | C$2.35 | C$0.89 | C$1.05 |
| YUL airport to downtown (fixed) | C$49.45 by day, C$56.70 by night | - | - | included |
The airport is the exception to the meter. YUL publishes a fixed taxi fare to downtown of C$49.45 from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. and C$56.70 overnight, with the provincial fee included; our YUL taxi guide covers the airport rank in detail.
How rideshare pricing works in Quebec
Under Quebec's law on paid passenger transportation by automobile, a trip can be priced other than by the CTQ's rates only if it is requested through an app that needs no human intervention. The CTQ says that app must let the rider see the maximum price in writing, and consent to it, before the driver is informed of the request.
That has two consequences for riders:
- You always see a ceiling before you accept. The price can move with demand, but you see it first.
- The ceiling can be high. Dynamic pricing means app fares rise when many people request at once, such as after the Bell Centre empties, during a snowstorm or when the metro stops for the night.
Rideshare prices are not published in advance, so we do not quote them. The honest rule is to compare the app's maximum with what the meter would roughly charge for your distance, and with a fixed car when the trip matters.
What makes you wait in Montreal
Neither taxis nor app rides publish wait times, but the conditions that stretch them are predictable.
Game and concert nights. When the Bell Centre lets out after a Canadiens game or an arena concert, the whole crowd leaves together. Expect the streets around the arena to fill, and the app map to show high prices for a while.
Festival closures. In summer, the Quartier des Spectacles around Place des Arts closes to cars for the big festivals. Cars cannot reach the door; you walk to the edge of the closure.
Snowstorms. Roads slow, more people want rides, and drivers take longer per trip. A storm is the moment the supply is thinnest.
Late nights and the metro's close. When the metro stops for the night, demand moves to cars, and the night meter rate applies from 11 p.m.
Grand Prix weekend. The Canadian Grand Prix in May sends crowds to Parc Jean-Drapeau, and the organiser publishes official taxi and rideshare drop-off points away from the circuit each year.
Congress closing times. When the Palais des congres lets out, thousands of delegates look for rides at the same moment.
Neighbourhood by neighbourhood
Downtown hotels. The easiest place in the city to find a taxi: hotel doors and the busy streets around Rene-Levesque and Sainte-Catherine. At rush hour, slow traffic means more of a short fare is counted by the minute than by the kilometre.
Old Montreal. Narrow lanes, cobblestones and little curb space around Place d'Armes. For the ride home, walk to a wider street before hailing or requesting, and you will be found faster.
The Plateau and Mile End. Residential and busy at night, with tight side streets. Whether you hail or request, agree an exact corner on a through street.
Parc Jean-Drapeau. For big island events, the metro is the organisers' first recommendation, and cars use set drop-off points. Plan the ride home before you go.
The Palais des congres. Closing time is the crunch. If you have a flight, book a car to a named entrance rather than joining the queue.
YUL. The airport has its own system: a fixed downtown taxi fare at Door 23 and signed app pickup areas. See Uber at Montreal airport for the app side.
Receipts, payment and complaints
Ask for a receipt at the end of any taxi ride, especially for business travel; the rate sticker on the rear left window shows the official tariff the meter should be using. If a fare looks wrong, note the car and time and contact the taxi company first. For app rides, the receipt and any dispute go through the app.
When the metro or a taxi is the right call
- One or two people, short hop, daytime. The meter will be modest, and a taxi from a hotel door is quick.
- Travelling light along a metro line. The STM bus and metro is the cheapest way around; YUL lists a regular one-way STM fare of C$3.75, and the 747 airport bus at C$11.25 doubles as a 24-hour pass on the STM network.
- A spontaneous trip with no deadline. Hail, ride, pay. There is nothing to book.
We would rather you took the metro to a museum than paid for a car you did not need.
When to book a car instead
A pre-booked Elly8.net car is a different product: a named chauffeur, a fixed price agreed before the trip, and a car that is waiting rather than requested. It earns its fare when:
- The group is bigger than a taxi. Prices are per vehicle. An Executive Sprinter seats 12 with 12 bags at US$220 per hour or US$1,100 for an evening out package; as arithmetic only, about US$92 each for 12.
- The night ends at a busy venue. The evening out and event night package, from US$550 in a Business Sedan, includes the ride home from an agreed corner, so you skip the post-game scramble.
- You have several stops. Hourly service from US$110 in a Business Sedan, 3-hour minimum, keeps one car with you between a meeting, lunch and the hotel.
- The weather turns. A storm does not change a fixed booking.
- You need an invoice. A corporate account puts every ride on one monthly bill.
- You are going out of town. Mont-Tremblant, Quebec City and Ottawa are long metered rides; the Tremblant day trip is a fixed package from US$1,015.
| Trip | Taxi or app | Pre-booked Elly8.net car |
|---|---|---|
| Two people, downtown to Old Montreal, afternoon | Best value | Not needed |
| Six friends to a Canadiens game and home | Two taxis or app rides, split up after | Business SUV evening, from US$700 |
| Day of meetings across downtown and Saint-Laurent | Many separate rides | Hourly or roadshow day, from US$990 |
| YUL arrival at midnight with children | Fixed taxi fare at Door 23 | Car waiting in arrivals, child seats fitted, from US$120 |
| Snowstorm evening, dinner reservation | Long waits possible | Fixed time, fixed price |
Rides in Montreal are operated by licensed, commercially insured local chauffeur partners vetted through the Limousine Worldwide network; Elly8.net takes the booking, fixes the price and runs the 24/7 desk. Fares include the chauffeur, vehicle, taxes and standard gratuity; tolls, parking and waiting beyond the booked time are billed at cost.
How to book
- Enter the pickup and drop-off, or choose hourly, and add any flight number.
- Choose the vehicle: Business Sedan, Business SUV, First Class Sedan, First Class SUV or Executive Sprinter.
- Press Reserve now on a fixed fare or package, or use the web booker for any other address. Confirmation arrives by email.
Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before pickup; 72 hours or less is 10%, 48 hours or less is 50%, and 24 hours or less or a no-show is 100%, refunded to the original card.
For trip-by-trip verdicts, read Montreal: Uber vs taxi vs private car. For vehicles and hourly rentals, see Montreal limo rental. The general comparisons are chauffeur vs taxi and chauffeur vs Uber and Lyft, and every fare is on the Montreal car service page. Nearby cities include Ottawa and Quebec City.
Elly8.net is a member of LimousineWorldwide.Directory, LimousineAssociation.International, HotelsWorldwide.Directory and VacationsWorldwide.Directory. Flights and hotels can be arranged through our travel partner BookingWorldwide.net; Elly8.net books the car.
Frequently asked questions
What is the starting fare for a Montreal taxi?
C$4.10 by day and C$4.70 at night, taxes included, under the CTQ's province-wide rates. A C$1.05 provincial fee is added to each trip. After that the meter charges per kilometre when moving, C$2.05 by day or C$2.35 at night, or per minute when slow, C$0.77 or C$0.89.
When does the night rate start?
The CTQ night rate applies to trips that start between 11:00 p.m. and 4:59 a.m. Trips starting from 5:00 a.m. to 10:59 p.m. use the day rate. At YUL, the fixed downtown fare is C$49.45 from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. and C$56.70 overnight.
Is Uber cheaper than a taxi in Montreal?
Sometimes. App prices change with demand, so they can be lower than the meter at quiet times and higher after events or in storms. Quebec law requires the app to show you a maximum price before you accept, so compare that figure with a rough meter estimate for your distance.
Can I hail a taxi on the street in Montreal?
Yes. A taxi hailed in the street or requested person to person is charged at the CTQ's rates, shown on the sticker on the rear left window. Hotel doors and busy streets downtown are the easiest places to find one. Ask for a receipt at the end of the ride.
How much is a private car by the hour in Montreal?
Elly8.net hourly rates start at US$110 for a Business Sedan and run to US$220 for an Executive Sprinter, with a 3-hour minimum, per vehicle and all-in. The evening out package starts at US$550 and a full day at US$810. Tolls and parking are billed at cost.
Do taxis take credit cards?
At YUL, the airport lists cash in Canadian dollars, debit and credit cards (Mastercard, Visa and American Express) for its taxis. In the city, check with the driver before you start, especially late at night. Elly8.net bookings are paid by card when you reserve.
