Montreal’s caleche drivers may soon be required to undergo customer service training -- but no formal training on how to actually drive a caleche.

The new regulations for the caleche industry will be voted on by city officials at the next council meeting. If proposed regulations pass, drivers will have to take a course on customer service.

Luc Desmarais is one of the city’s newest caleche drivers. He has almost no experience with horses – except for working in a horse barn 50 years ago.

“I never drove the horse before. It was a long time ago. I'm 60 now and I was, like, 10,” he said.

According to the city's proposed rules, the only requirement a driver needs to prove they can manage a horse is a written attestation from the caleche owner.

It's up to the caleche owner to ensure the driver can properly follow traffic, park and assist passengers getting on and off.

After only a few weeks of practice, Desmarais will soon be on his own.

He said he got into the industry because he's friends with one of the caleche owners.

In the spring, the Quebec Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management offered drivers a customer service class in preparation for the passing of the law.

“They were very vague as to what the need was,” said Daniel Gallant, who is one of the teachers.

Gallant said half the course was a history lesson, including a walking tour of Old Montreal. The other half is to help drivers improve the customer experience.

“My goal was to get them to put their own colour into this, to bring out their authenticity, to teach them to adapt to various clienteles,” said Gallant.

The City of Montreal declined CTV's request for an interview, but said in a statement: "The caleche industry is an asset to the tourist economy of Old Montreal. The city wants to have a uniform customer service experience, especially with regards to historic and tourist information."

And after a string of highly publicized incidents involving caleches over the past few summers, the new workers on the job are learning that driving a caleche might not be as easy as it looks.

“It's not easy to run a horse,” said Desmarais. “Explaining stuff to the people, that's not hard. Running a horse – that's an art.”