What The HELL!! Calgary Taxi Situation

[4X4]

I was on hold last night for about an hour trying to find a taxi. Why are they so hard to get at peak times? Why doesn't the city grant more licenses? Is it because it would dilute it too much during non-peak times? Well, how about taxis that can only be operational on thu-fri-sat nights?

We can't drink & drive, right? Well what are the alternatives? TAke a bus at 1 or 2 am? That outfit that drives your car for you? They're busy too.

Yeah, yeah, plan your night ahead. Designate a driver. Bullcrap. Maybe on days when you actually plan. What about the spontaneous nights that just develop out of the blue?

More taxi licenses at least for peak times. This is ridiculous. This city is so damn big that if you're lucky enough to be close to home, you're still probably a car ride away. Especially in the winter. [/rant]

[Winsor_Pilates]

Yeah, it's pretty bad on busy nights.
The best way to get a taxi, I find is to skip the phone and walk to the nearest club/hotel/bar where they'll be waiting outside. Of course, depending where you are, that's not always an easy option.

[Flames_Gimp]

welcome to my world!

[Clever_Iggy]

Ive heard that cab companies are actually holding the calls for taxi's to create the impression that the city is really short on cabs in order to grant more cab licenses.

It really is crazy - there has to be something other than just lack of numbers.

[JD]

Yeah it doesn't make sense for you to be complaining about the number of taxis out there when your issue seems to be centred around getting through to the call centre.

There is nothing saying the two are linked.

I live in the downtown area, and I rarely have difficulties getting a cab if I just look for one. Trying to call for one, that's always difficult, however. I agree with you on that. Maybe the cab companies just need to improve their customer service.

[Flames09]

I actually know quite a few cab drivers and it's not hard to get a cab, if you call the call centre it's pretty much impossible because you can't get through but they are available, what's ridiculous is cab drivers can't even buy their own taxi plate licence because only a select few are allowed to and if you buy it off someone the cost can range from $100,000 - $200,000. You know what you're suppose to do next time you take a cab ask the driver for what his hours are and ask if you can get his cell phone number so you can call him directly, that's what I do and the majority of people I know, that way you always get through.

[FireFly]

During the Christmas season, Global did a story on this and talked to a number of cab companies. They said that they will only let calls through when they know your wait time for a cab will only be about 20 minutes regardless of where you are in the city.

As far as liscences go, they apparently are ready to hand out lots, the problem is the cost to the potential cab driver is a bit prohibitive. That's my understanding, at least.

[Dion]

Cab companies are reporting they don't have enough drivers to man their fleet of cars.

[Flames09]

Originally Posted by FireFly

During the Christmas season, Global did a story on this and talked to a number of cab companies. They said that they will only let calls through when they know your wait time for a cab will only be about 20 minutes regardless of where you are in the city.

As far as liscences go, they apparently are ready to hand out lots, the problem is the cost to the potential cab driver is a bit prohibitive. That's my understanding, at least.

They handed out 6 I believe regular Taxi Plate Licences last year (100 accessible TPL), the cost without your own plate is disgusting, the rent alone per week is $350-$400 and that doesn't even include fuel cost, so if a cab driver works 7 days a week and on average makes around $150 per day that leaves you with $650 and then take out fuel cost and you're left with basically nothing. The guys/girls who are lucky enough to get a TPL (accessible/regular) turn around and sell theirs, lease them or dont use them.

Originally Posted by Dion

Cab companies are reporting they don't have enough drivers to man their fleet of cars.

Maybe if the rent wasn't nearly half of what you make people might want to drive a cab, seriously they only have themselves to blame.

[I_H8_Crawford]

#TAXI on your cell phone has never failed me.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Flames09

Maybe if the rent wasn't nearly half of what you make people might want to drive a cab, seriously they only have themselves to blame.

The taxi industry has always preyed on the immigrant population who couldn't find other jobs. Many a times i've used a cab coming home form the airport and the driver telling me how the company is robbing him blind, and how he was unable to find another job. Now the situation is reversed. Cab companies get zero sympathy from me.

[renny]

Originally Posted by I_H8_Crawford

#TAXI on your cell phone has never failed me.

that service blows, whether you get through to a company or not you get charged $1.25

[Bobblehead]

I thought a bunch of taxus just sit empty because the cab companies can get drivers, and the drivers they do have don't want anything to do with picking up drunks who give them grief late at night.

[icarus]

Meanwhile there are 80 cabs lined up at the airport at any given time.

[LouCypher]

Just seems to go hand in hand with the situation in Calgary...part labor shortage part rising cost of living. I also know a fair share of cab drivers that just dont want to work at night especially for safety reasons.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by icarus

Meanwhile there are 80 cabs lined up at the airport at any given time.

They interviewed some drivers on the super newscast back in the fall. One of the reasons stated by some of those cab drivers is they are gaurenteed a fare when their time comes - so they wait in line. Others mentioned getting a calls to pick someone up someone from downtown only to find that when they got there another cab stole their fare.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by I_H8_Crawford

#TAXI on your cell phone has never failed me.

What a scam... the normal "free" lines have stupid wait times and the $1.25 fee lines are usually open. WTF should I pay for the priviledge of calling a cab and let these guys make more money?

[SaskaBushFire]

We called for our taxi for game 6 at 4:45, wanted it to be there to get us by 5:30. It showed up at about 5:50.. was pretty upset that we ordered it 45 minutes in advance and got it 20 minutes late.

We just made it into our seats in time for the anthems as well so it was a good thing we called when we did.

[Flames09]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

I thought a bunch of taxus just sit empty because the cab companies can get drivers, and the drivers they do have don't want anything to do with picking up drunks who give them grief late at night.

That's very true cab drivers absolutley hate picking up drunks because frankly they dont know how to behave and there is a very, very, very good chance they'll take off without paying why do you think cab drivers sometimes demand a certain amount of money upfront.

Originally Posted by LouCypher

Just seems to go hand in hand with the situation in Calgary...part labor shortage part rising cost of living. I also know a fair share of cab drivers that just dont want to work at night especially for safety reasons.

Whats funny is there is more money in the evening shift then in the day shift (yes I know quite a bit about cab drivers), like I said majority of the drivers I know have special clients, so the best thing to do is get the cab drivers business/cell number (get a few).

[urban1]

Cabs are terrible in Calgary when compared to any other large city. Theres two problems: 1) dispatch and 2) too few cabs.

I live in a community just outside of downtown and take cabs quite often. Both for going out in the evenings and to work (instead of transit or driving and paying for parking.)

1) dispatch is definitely a bottleneck in the system. Even the cab drivers will tell you that dispatch is a joke. I dont really know why the cab companies create the bottle neck here. Sometimes in the winter I will take a can to work in the morning - anywhere between 6 and 7 am. Sometimes at 5:30am on weekday morning its impossible to get through and then after trying for 15 minutes you will finally get through and be on hold for another 15 minutes. Then when I talk with the cab driver they will tell you that the dispatchers are a-holes and that cabs are sitting around at that time waiting for fares but dispatch is understaffed and the person working doesnt really give a sh*t. I think most companies only have one person on staff per shift because at least in the mornings, i recognize the same voices all the time.

2) Theres definitely a shortage of cabs. If on a weekend evening I cant get through to dispatch, I will walk to a nearby street that busy with pubs and restaurants. Even here, its next to impossible to flag down a cab. Every cab that flies by has people in it and even ones that are dropping people off wont pick anyone up because they have another pickup already arranged. I dont know how many, if any new taxi licenses the city has added in the past few years. Look how much the city has grown - the taxi fleet definitely hasnt kept. Cab drivers will always say theres already too many cabs because its in their interest to keep up the value of a taxi license and to guarantee their business stays profitable. But theres gotta be a point where the cab companies themselves would make more money if they added more cabs. The city needs to look into adding new licenses. (I also now that now it may be a problem getting cab drivers but I dont believe that theres cabs sitting empty.)

Some tips:

Pre-arranged pickups are a possible solution but not great. If you call a couple of hours or even a day in advance to arrange a pickup chances are you will get a cab. Problem is that it could be quite late as people mentioned earlier in the thread. I had a couple of bad experiences and wouldnt recommend this. Ive also had a coworker who missed a flight this winter because the cab didnt show up at all and it was on a stormy day and they couldnt get through to the company to get another cab and had no other way to get to the airport.

The cab companies have a second dispatch number that isnt publicized. I dont have my phone near me right now otherwise Id post the numbers. Theyre similar to the main numbers but one or two digits off. These used to be great when the main numbers werek busy but even now these have gotten harder to get thru.

#taxi on the cell phone sux. save your money and dont use it. if you cant get thru to the cab companies, neither will this and youll still get the charge on your bill and then have to argue to get it removed.

Best bet: Someone mentioned it already. If you have a friendly cab driver, ask for his card and ask him if you can call him directly. This is great if youre going out for the nite and will need a pickup later in the night when its impossible to flag down a cab. A lot of the drivers will tell you what shifts they work; ive now got a few guys i can call early on weekday mornings. Most drivers will also give you someone else to call if they cant come pick you when you call them. By far this is the best bet to make sure you get to where you need to be.