BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – There's an unprecedented surge in requests for Buffalo limousine services from Canadian snowbirds trying to get home.
Canadian law requires any person traveling to the country by plane to quarantine for up to three days in a hotel, a cost incurred by the traveler. However, those traveling by car do not have to quarantine in a hotel.
Instead, they can quarantine at home.
Carla Boccio, owner of Buffalo Limousine, said her company has fielded anywhere from 600 to 800 phone calls the last couple of days, which is roughly five times the number of phone calls daily during the pre-COVID days.
When the CBC first reported about the technique to avoid a hotel quarantine, Boccio said it caused a misconception.
"People think that because they, whether it's my company or another company locally that's going over the border, that because I'm taking you, you don't need any testing and can come and go freely," she said. "That's not the case. We're getting a lot of calls for Canadians that are saying 'I want to fly out of the Buffalo Airport'. You can't do that. I can't go into Canada myself unless I have an essential travel waiver or if I had a relative in Canada who was terminally ill. I would have to make arrangements through customs to get a waiver."
Boccio also said Canadian snowbirds aren't circumventing the rules because they are still going through the proper testing procedures at the border. However, she said they are circumventing the hotel stay as some may have health issues or other reasons why a hotel stay isn't ideal.
She lamented the timing of the Canadian reporting, saying they've been helping Canadians for the last month. They've already booked limousine trips through the end of this month and into May.
"I feel bad because these people are thinking this is something we can do that's new and it's not," she said. "It's been ongoing."
Boccio said she is grateful for the business, especially since hers is another one that's been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, she hopes that the border can open and that travel is not as burdensome.
Congressman Brian Higgins on Monday said he wants the border to be opened soon because of the mass availability of vaccines. He said people have been compliant with health officials and keeping each other safe.
"When two people who love each other haven't been able to see each other in over a year and both are vaccinated and wearing masks and not being in a big crowd, they should be able to reunite," Higgins said. "If you have property in Ontario and haven't been able to do anything about it over a year…if you've had a vaccine and a mask, you should be able to cross the border. If you have a business interest and take the same precautions, you should be able to cross that border."
Higgins said people need something to be hopeful about. He's called for a partial reopening of the border by Memorial Day and is optimistic about a return to normalcy come the Fourth of July, echoing President Joe Biden's sentiment.
