Quote:
Originally Posted by hurtin_albertan
I didn't major in business but it seems to me the taxi companies in Calgary have a very lucrative and unfair oligopoloy going here.
I spent nearly 2 hours on hold for a taxi on a recent regular Saturday night, and when I finally got in the car and asked the driver how insanely busy he must be on this night, he just shrugged and said "not really". He told me that the problem is not in a shortage of cars or drivers, but all in the dispatch systems. Apparently these companies all employ small handfuls of people with minimal phone lines, in an effort to minimize overhead by not spending on improved dispatch systems, while at the same time creating the false impression of car shortages with the goal of being granted more licenses to make money off of.
The customer definitely gets screwed, but so do the drivers by not having nearly as many fares put through to them as they could handle. That's exactly why so many from both parties have signed up to use the FastCab app - cut out the antiquated middle man and get a damn ride/fare.
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I've heard that song and dance about not enough dispatchers from cabbies for years now.
"You must be busy on this Saturday night in December, it took me hours to get through on the phone..."
"Nah, not really, they don't have anyone answering the phones..."
"Oh really, it's quiet tonight? So you've just been sitting there while me and 500 hundred other people are madly calling your business so we can give you money?"
I don't buy it.