nick boccio, general manager of buffalo limousines, said the canadian clientele has helped the company bring back chauffeurs.
on friday, boccio said the company gave nine different rides to canadian passengers on just one flight from florida.
canada has imposed tough restrictions since the start of the pandemic, including a ban on most foreigners from entering the country. canadians can fly out of the country and return either by land or air.
but concerns are mounting due to a surge in virus variants, with the once temporary hotel quarantine now mandatory for air travellers through late may, and a ban introduced this week on direct flights from india and pakistan.
will the boom last?
firestone said some of his clients who spent the winter in florida are returning by land to avoid hotels. some get rides; others who usually get their cars shipped are driving them north.
“every single limousine company has got on the bandwagon,” firestone said.
some canadians ask to be driven home, while others take rides to the border, cross on foot and get another ride in canada, drivers said.
non-commercial land border crossings were 60 per cent higher during one week at the end of march and beginning of april than in the same week in 2020, according to data from the canada border services agency. air travel for that same week, meanwhile, increased 18.8 per cent. the discrepancy between the rules at the land border and by air is a sore point for canada’s hard-hit carriers.