What The HELL!! Calgary Taxi Situation

[Flames_Gimp]

last time i called an accessible cab, I waited 3hours to take a 10 min trip.

[RedHot25]

I took a cab to the airport a couple of days ago. Mind you this was in a Canadian city at the other end of the country. But the cabbie mentioned to me that it is up to them if they work or not. You want to work, you log in. You don't, you don't log in.

Does the same apply to the situation in Calgary? If so, that could explain some things as well. A lot of cabbies may not want to work at certain times etc.

Originally Posted by Flames_Gimp

last time i called an accessible cab, I waited 3hours to take a 10 min trip.

Yeah, accessible cabs and/or handi-bus are brutal. That was even the case ~ 5 or so years ago (I used to work with an agency that required them). Same problems - guaranteed at least one cab and one taxi would be not just late, but VERY late.

[Flames09]

Originally Posted by RedHot25

I took a cab to the airport a couple of days ago. Mind you this was in a Canadian city at the other end of the country. But the cabbie mentioned to me that it is up to them if they work or not. You want to work, you log in. You don't, you don't log in.

Does the same apply to the situation in Calgary? If so, that could explain some things as well. A lot of cabbies may not want to work at certain times etc.



Yeah, accessible cabs and/or handi-bus are brutal. That was even the case ~ 5 or so years ago (I used to work with an agency that required them). Same problems - guaranteed at least one cab and one taxi would be not just late, but VERY late.

You pay your rent everyweek no matter how many days you work, cab drivers can not work for a year straight and it doesn't make a difference to the cab company as long as you're paying your rent.

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by RedHot25

the cabbie mentioned to me that it is up to them if they work or not. You want to work, you log in. You don't, you don't log in.

Does the same apply to the situation in Calgary? If so, that could explain some things as well. A lot of cabbies may not want to work at certain times etc.

Yup iit's the same here...cabbies work their own hours

[urban1]

I may be wrong but I believe the cab companies own very few of the cabs. Most cabs and cab licenses are owned by the cab drivers themselves. The owner of the cab/cab license will work his prefered 8 hour (or however many hour shift he wants) and then will rent out his cab for the other 16 hours of the day. Usually its a 50/50 split between the owner of the cab and the person who drives it. So its up to the owner of the cab, you can drive your cab for 8 hours and let it sit for the rest of the time, or you can have it running 24/7.

Originally Posted by Flames09

You pay your rent everyweek no matter how many days you work, cab drivers can not work for a year straight and it doesn't make a difference to the cab company as long as you're paying your rent.

[Flames09]

Originally Posted by urban1

I may be wrong but I believe the cab companies own very few of the cabs. Most cabs and cab licenses are owned by the cab drivers themselves. The owner of the cab/cab license will work his prefered 8 hour (or however many hour shift he wants) and then will rent out his cab for the other 16 hours of the day. Usually its a 50/50 split between the owner of the cab and the person who drives it. So its up to the owner of the cab, you can drive your cab for 8 hours and let it sit for the rest of the time, or you can have it running 24/7.

No the cab company ownes the licence usually, they will lease you a vehicle or you can provide your own, and the cab is given out to two individuals who share it (split into dayshift and nightshift). Most cab drivers would do just about anything to have their own licence because that means you can lease out the licence too two drivers charge rent and profit sitting at home or doing another job, or you can drive for 8-12 hours and have the other driver pay your part of the rent and their own too so you would get too keep everything you make (after the cost of fuel). Even if you own you pay the company rent but it's much lower if you own the licence. I know many people who have been trying to get cab licences for quite some time to no avail, they've been offered them for $80,000-$200,000 when they had got them for free or almost no cost. Also cab drivers dont do 8 hour shifts usually it's 12 hour shifts (how many hours you work is up too you).

[MagicallyAdept]

I can't believe you dont have illegal cabs over there? There is so much demand but no one has tried to supply?

I know London is a biger city and all that but you cannot move downtown without some dodgy bloke with an african accent asking you if you want a cab. They have half decent cars and are 25-50% cheaper than black taxi's or minicabs. They don't have a taxi licence but can get away with it because if they get pulled over the passenger hasn't yet paid and is just getting a ride with his 'friend'. Regular taxi's don't usually go down the busy roads where all the nightclubs are becuase they know no-one wants to pay their inflated prices. I always get illegal cabs if the clubs don't provide a ride for me but i would always tell a girl on her own to take a licenced cab. The illegals can sometimes try to get extra money off you but a group of 4 drunk blokes will usually get the better deal.

[mykalberta]

Why would you become a cab driver when the profession gets very little respect and the rates are capped. It should be market rates, not ones capped by the city, or at least the busy hours shouldnt be capped.

MYK

[4X4]

Originally Posted by 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.

???

I don't live downtown, so I have to go through the call center.

And it certainly makes sense for the two to be linked, although some of the responses a little further down are indicating that they're not.



I guess I'm still stuck in Rome, mentally. It's just frustrating to go from a place where there are busses running everywhere, all the time and cabs everywhere, all the time, and come back to the land of no transit and too few taxis. Or too few people in the call center. Whatever.

[4X4]

And to what magicallyadept just said, there really are no illegal taxis here. Though I'm starting to wish there were. At least it'd be based on getting impaired people off the road instead of ripping off tourists like in europe.


To what MYK said, you're right. I'd be all for a night premium. They do it in europe and people still take taxis. It'd encourage cab drivers to take the night shift.

[urban1]

Are you sure about this?

Im relatively new to Calgary but in most other cities in Canada its the drivers who own the cab licences. The cab companies may own a few licenses but the majority are owned by individuals. The cab companies make most of their money from dispatch fees.

The cab licenses like anything else can be sold in the open market and can fetch pretty high values. I know when I left Toronto there was a change in the way the licenses were given out and a lot of cab drivers were upset because they were losing a lot of money in the value of what they paid for the licenses because they werent going to be able to resell them and had to surrender them to the city if they no longer wanted them. (Not sure on the details though.)

Originally Posted by Flames09

No the cab company ownes the licence usually, they will lease you a vehicle or you can provide your own, and the cab is given out to two individuals who share it (split into dayshift and nightshift). Most cab drivers would do just about anything to have their own licence because that means you can lease out the licence too two drivers charge rent and profit sitting at home or doing another job, or you can drive for 8-12 hours and have the other driver pay your part of the rent and their own too so you would get too keep everything you make (after the cost of fuel). Even if you own you pay the company rent but it's much lower if you own the licence. I know many people who have been trying to get cab licences for quite some time to no avail, they've been offered them for $80,000-$200,000 when they had got them for free or almost no cost. Also cab drivers dont do 8 hour shifts usually it's 12 hour shifts (how many hours you work is up too you).

[Flames09]

Originally Posted by urban1

Are you sure about this?

Im relatively new to Calgary but in most other cities in Canada its the drivers who own the cab licences. The cab companies may own a few licenses but the majority are owned by individuals. The cab companies make most of their money from dispatch fees.

The cab licenses like anything else can be sold in the open market and can fetch pretty high values. I know when I left Toronto there was a change in the way the licenses were given out and a lot of cab drivers were upset because they were losing a lot of money in the value of what they paid for the licenses because they werent going to be able to resell them and had to surrender them to the city if they no longer wanted them. (Not sure on the details though.)

I'm sure, too many people want licences and can't get them, to the poster above you're right they get very little respect, the money if you own a cab licence and like working 8-12 hours is not bad, it's better then flipping burgers (no offense to anyone who does).

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Why would you become a cab driver when the profession gets very little respect and the rates are capped. It should be market rates, not ones capped by the city, or at least the busy hours shouldnt be capped.

MYK

Sounds good in a theoretical sense, but can you imagine the chaos? I'd hate to get into a cab and have the cabbie pulling shiz out of the air making up fares as he went along.

Agreed on the who wants to be a cabbie part though.

[4X4]

No, there'd be a premium on the fare counter before the ride starts (like there already is, just higher) and perhaps quicker intervals of cost increase.

[Vulcan]

I drove and owned a cab for a bit when I first came to Calgary in the 70's. The price of a cab license plate was maybe $300 per year and there was no limit on the number of plates. I made pretty good money, had a good time as a single guy and I never worried about where or who I picked up. There was a comaradrie between the drivers and we protected each other, sometimes disciplining out of control pasengers, so there was rarely problems. Now the passengers are always right, no matter what stunts they pull.
I still know cabbies who own their own homes and have a pretty good life but I sure wouldn't want to drive today. The pay and respect isn't there anymore for a regular cabbie and there is little chance of owning their own cab, so you'll only get people who can't do anything else. Society, with all the hard drugs and out of control drunk teens, and cab drivers have changed, it's become a dangerous job and I don't blame drivers if they pick their times and spots.

[MagicallyAdept]

Originally Posted by 4X4

And to what magicallyadept just said, there really are no illegal taxis here. Though I'm starting to wish there were. At least it'd be based on getting impaired people off the road instead of ripping off tourists like in europe.

I also hate the way they rip off the tourists too, sometimes i put on an accent or get the wife to talk just to see how much they will try and overcharge.

People all over the world drink-drive but i have never seen it as bad as when i was in Calgary. Half the people in the nightclub would decide to drive home and i was shocked to find most of the people said "we do it all the time", now most of these people were the Outriders and rich middle aged men who believe they can get away with everything but i don't think the police were really on top of the drink driving situation. Over here you can get pulled over for anything and the police will breathalyze you if they have reason to believe you are over the legal limit (1.5 units i believe) and they always do. Now the cab situation in london is different and i think thats why not as many people drink-drive. Hardly anyone drives downtown to go 'clubbing' because of congestion charge, no/expensive parking spaces and risk of getting arrested. Most drinkers on a friday night are at their local pub getting hammered but if they live further than walking distance will use one of the 3-10 cab numbers on a sign by the bar. These cab firms have many cars working the night shift and are very reliable. Now if the people that make decisions over there could improve the taxi situation then i really think it would help cut the number of people drink driving.

Did i really type that much! Damn. Apologies for length (and girth).

[JD]

Originally Posted by 4X4

???

I don't live downtown, so I have to go through the call center.

And it certainly makes sense for the two to be linked, although some of the responses a little further down are indicating that they're not.

Well, what I mean is that I've never experienced a shortage of cabs. I've seen hundreds lined up at the airport, and I'm nearly always able to find one downtown. But that's anecdotal and admittedly not necessarily a reflection of reality.

All I was getting at is that were complaining about waiting an hour on hold... that's something I slso experience every time I call, if I get through at all. But I'd say that's a call centre problem rather than the number of cabs out there. In other words, isn't the bottleneck at the call centre? Once you get someone on the phone, how long is your wait for the cab to actually come once called? I've usually found that once you get through, you're good to go... but like I say, my neighborhood has a lot of cabs in it.

[FireFly]

Originally Posted by JD

Well, what I mean is that I've never experienced a shortage of cabs. I've seen hundreds lined up at the airport, and I'm nearly always able to find one downtown. But that's anecdotal and admittedly not necessarily a reflection of reality.

All I was getting at is that were complaining about waiting an hour on hold... that's something I slso experience every time I call, if I get through at all. But I'd say that's a call centre problem rather than the number of cabs out there. In other words, isn't the bottleneck at the call centre? Once you get someone on the phone, how long is your wait for the cab to actually come once called? I've usually found that once you get through, you're good to go... but like I say, my neighborhood has a lot of cabs in it.

They do that on purpose. If they let everyone's call through right away, you have an hour and a half wait for a cab. Which would you rather?

[HelloHockeyFans]

If there ever comes a day when I don't have to work any more, I would become a cab driver.

[JD]

Originally Posted by FireFly

They do that on purpose. If they let everyone's call through right away, you have an hour and a half wait for a cab. Which would you rather?

I'd rather get through right away and know what I'm dealing with rather than spending all my time hitting redial and hoping.

But I'd be inclined to believe the call centres are understaffed, especially during the hours people are trying to get cabs.