A Blueline cab driver has volunteered to stop driving a taxi while his actions, caught on camera, are under review. The heated argument Saturday morning in front of the Fairmont Chateau Laurier between the cabbie and what appears to be an Uber driver ended up on YouTube. The video has been viewed almost half a million times in only two days.  It prompted a meeting Monday afternoon between the driver, his union and their employer, Coventry Connections.

It is not clear whether the passenger in the back of the Uber car was a guest at the Chateau.  Nonetheless, the hotel says the Blueline driver isn't welcome here anymore and police are now investigating.

In a matter of seconds, the confrontation in the video gets ugly with this launched at the Uber driver, ‘If I see you again, you’re dead meat.  Go follow the law and get a real job.  I’m not joking with you.’

Then, after opening the back door, more expletives, this time directed at the passenger.

‘Take a real taxi you f***-ing cheapskate,’ he yells.

 By this afternoon, the video had been viewed more than 400-thousand times.

‘Oh yeah, I saw that,’ says one student who uses Uber fairly frequently.

‘I'm scared to go out at night as it is,’ says another young university student, ‘but this is just weird,’ she says of the YouTube video.

‘We understand there's a problem,’ says another student, ‘but the way they've been dealing with the problem is not appropriate.’

That's how the hotel feels, too, and says the taxi driver is no longer welcome.

‘For us it's zero tolerance for this behavior,’ says Deneen Perrin, the Director of Public Relations with the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, ‘and we immediately contacted Coventry.’

Coventry Connections, which operates Blueline, met today with the driver and his union.   At this point, the cabbie has volunteered to stop driving pending the outcome of a review.

‘We would have had to move as company and even consider suspension or firing,’ says Hanif Patni with Coventry Connections, ‘but we didn't have to because the driver volunteered not to work anymore.’

Ottawa Police are investigating as well, but at this point, have not identified the Uber driver.

‘The investigators have to look into the threat,’ says Constable Chuck Benoit with the Ottawa Police, ‘Was there intent, was there an actual threat said towards endangering a person's wellbeing?’

Tension has been rising in the city between the taxi industry and Uber and between rival taxi companies. 

Cabbies say what happened Saturday morning is not a complete surprise.

‘As a taxi driver,’ says Blueline driver Nagib Slika, ‘we’ve lost 45% of our business.’

‘If somebody takes your business in front of your eyes,’ adds Blueline cab driver Saad Jasem, ‘you have to convince him, you don't have to take our business.’

It appears others may be striking back.  Today, an ad appeared on Kijiji Ottawa looking for people to pose as Uber drivers to catch angry cabbies on camera.

‘These thugs need to be put in check through a targeted campaign,’ the ad said, ‘not by Uber, but by ordinary people who are sick of seeing this go on in our city.’

After CTV contacted the ad for an interview, the site was no longer available.  Ottawa Police are also now looking into that ad on Kijiji.  And the head of Coventry connections is imploring his drivers not to take matters into their own hands even if they're provoked.