Another plan to put more taxis on Calgary streets was presented to council members on Friday and the meeting drew such a huge crowd it had to be moved to council chambers.
A new report recommends adding 383 new taxi licences to the system, including 42 that would be used for wheelchair accessible cabs.
Currently there are 1525 taxis on the street and the plan calls for the new plates to be used during peak periods, specifically between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
The idea is receiving mixed reviews from cab companies and drivers.
“Friday and Saturday there are a lot of people waiting two hours and also when they come to us and they are frustrated, “said Abdul Khaliq-Khan, a 16-year taxi driver.
“We are in support of the recommendation coming from administration for the release of the new licences. We feel Calgarians have been asking for a number of years for more taxis and so we’re in favour of it and we hope that council will approve administration’s recommendation,” said Kurt Enders, president of Checker Transportation Group.
“We are happy because we need those plates. There are many drivers like myself who have been driving for a number of years and we’ve been asking this from the city for a long time,” said Satnam Shergill, who has been driving for over 20 years. “These licences should be given to those who are driving full-time, not those in the industry who are engaged in other businesses.”
Manjit Hallan is also a veteran driver and says he is opposed to the new plan.
“There are already so many licences on the road and it’s hard for us to make living because they issue more plates it means more business divided into more hands,” said Hallan.
Sandy Jenkins created a website and Facebook page in 2008 that he says represents the consumer in the cab shortage equation.
“The city capped the number of licences in 1986 and at that time it didn’t have a big input because they capped it at a high number, it’s now almost 30 years later and we haven’t increased the number of taxi licences significantly and the population has doubled so we need better taxi service for the people that live here but also for tourism,” said Jenkins.
Councillor Jim Stevenson says he’s not convinced the city needs that many plates right now. “I’m not convinced that there is a shortage of taxis. I’m convinced that we have a problem with dispatch and connection between the client and the driver right? So those are questions I’m going to be asking.”
The Taxi and Limousine Advisory Committee also weighed in on the report and says 61 new plates would be enough.
If the plan receives council approval, the new taxis could be on the road by the end of the year.
(With files from Ina Sidhu)
