New Taxi Company To The Rescue?

[Mr.Coffee]

Cabs don't seem as hard to get as they used to but lucky for me I've moved on past the point of my life where I needed one every weekend.

Seems to me that with a lot of honest questions most people are left with a deafening silence on the support side of the current system. I guess the owners of Mayfair, Checker and whichever politician in city hall's pockets gets greased aren't Calgarypuck members.

[calgarywinning]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Yup. It's ridiculous. I can't even think of a reasonable reason for the limit. And if one person even tries to mention some bull##### about "planning ahead", I'll give that person 10 scenarios that are un-plan-ahead-able when a cab should be available within 15-30 minutes.

It's like the stone age over here with cabs. I got denied on the weekend for a ride to the deep south by a cabbie. He didn't want to leave downtown. Fair enough. He's gonna make more money staying in the core. But it took about 40 minutes to get another cab. Plenty drove by, but none of them had the light on. Something tells me that if there were a few more cabs on the street, there might have been an unoccupied one, and someone would have been inclined to take my $50 to get home. And it's times like that when people say f-it, and they drive home themselves.

People who are drunk in a position to drive should never say F'it and just drive home. Simple. Let's be clear about that. While the lack of cabs may drive them to that thought, they shouldn't let that thought become action.

[TorqueDog]

We need Uber and Lyft in this damn city, that's what we need.

[JD]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

People who are drunk in a position to drive should never say F'it and just drive home. Simple. Let's be clear about that. While the lack of cabs may drive them to that thought, they shouldn't let that thought become action.

I agree, but that's a pretty naive way to think.

With no taxis available, you're forcing a DRUNK person to make a good decision on the risk/reward analysis of the situation. This is why people drive drunk. They are leaving the decision-making to a time when they are incapable of making a proper decision.

Honestly, I've never had a problem getting a taxi downtown. When I lived in Calgary, my life revolved around the core so it was never an issue. Venture outside of the 16th Ave-Glenmore-Deerfoot-Crowchild box, and suddenly this is a big issue. And really, it's like that in most cities I think. Calgary is still a small big city so it really is another one of those things that will evolve as the city grows.

When you come to places like the UAE, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have highly regulated taxi systems, but the strategy seems to be the opposite; they flood the streets with taxis and the price is so low, people are encouraged to use the service. In Calgary, the only reason I would use a taxi instead of my car is when I've been drinking. The scarcity of cars and the high prices are prohibitive. In Abu Dhabi or Dubai, taxis are quite simply, easier, and often cheaper, than driving your own car.

[calgarywinning]

Originally Posted by JD

I agree, but that's a pretty naive way to think.

With no taxis available, you're forcing a DRUNK person to make a good decision on the risk/reward analysis of the situation. This is why people drive drunk. They are leaving the decision-making to a time when they are incapable of making a proper decision.

Honestly, I've never had a problem getting a taxi downtown. When I lived in Calgary, my life revolved around the core so it was never an issue. Venture outside of the 16th Ave-Glenmore-Deerfoot-Crowchild box, and suddenly this is a big issue. And really, it's like that in most cities I think. Calgary is still a small big city so it really is another one of those things that will evolve as the city grows.

When you come to places like the UAE, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have highly regulated taxi systems, but the strategy seems to be the opposite; they flood the streets with taxis and the price is so low, people are encouraged to use the service. In Calgary, the only reason I would use a taxi instead of my car is when I've been drinking. The scarcity of cars and the high prices are prohibitive. In Abu Dhabi or Dubai, taxis are quite simply, easier, and often cheaper, than driving your own car.

You have articulated this beautifully. Make the service simple, seamless, ridiculously affordable so no other choice can be made. I agree but, your other logic doesn't make sense.

I think in Abu Dhabi, there are no minus 38 nights with 4 feet of snowfall as well. If we could have your weather year round this would reduce poor choices. Sometimes the weather can force people to think, i'll just drive home when faced with a cab shortage.

I just think no matter the reason, the decision to drink and drive is not acceptable. I was drinking so I decided to drink and drive. No cab, plan ahead and expect that in the city, don't drink and justify it. Don't like the price, plan ahead and don't drink and drive. Think the cab service is better anywhere else in the world, don't drink and drive. You have all this information before you head out.

Just a strong proponent of warning people that drinking and driving shouldn't even be a thought in the mind.

However, you are absolutely correct about the lack of service, price and the dilemma it places people in.

[JD]

The problem is, people aren't as proactive as you seem to be. Lots of people end up drunk without the planning ahead part. They haven't thought ahead to how they're going to get home to the wife without making her angry. We totally agree, it should not be a thought that even enters a person's mind, but that's not how it is. Not yet, anyway.

Like smoking, drinking and driving is becoming stigmatized over time and, eventually, it should be extremely uncommon. Maybe it's because I'm older and have different habits these days, but I think it already is far less common than it was 15 to 20 years ago.

[calgarywinning]

Absolutely a change in social conditioning.

When you get your new license you can't drink and drive at all or it's taken away. It's a graduated license.

The number of people still getting robbed of their lives because of this is ongoing. I recently had a friend who lost her father and was badly scarred because of a drunk driver at a young age, be hit again by another drunk driver in early twenties. She's got pins in her leg and ankle and no father.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Dynamic

I was shocked when I heard how the cab system works. Basically the biggest hurdle is just getting a license. A guy I golfed with told me a license even in edmonton or calgary is worth 250g. In Vancouver a license is worth 500g (I can't remembers the numbers exactly). These licenses are sold on this cab owner black market. Every once in a while the city will release more licenses and if you win the lottery you get a license. Just seemed like a very shady system to me .

The numbers are higher now...The can companies have a decent amount of political sway and prevent new licenses. In growing cities it's a major problem. In Vancouver they even prevent different licenses from working in different subburbs.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by #-3

Came here to see people complain that without more licences it wont make a difference. Only took 3 posts.

Point being?

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Table 5

They usually give some BS safety/maintenance reason or another, but in NYC, I know that one of the biggest reasons cabbies don't want to change the way things operate fundamentally, is because the medallions (ie licenses) themselves are so valued, they are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. So at this stage those things are pretty much their investment plan...and for a lot of people there's huge money to be lost if the value of an individual license goes down. I wonder if that's the same underlying reason in Calgary.

I had a long chat with a cabbie in Calgary and it sounds like basically the exact same situation. The plates cost a buttload and people use them as their primary investment vehicle and would be ruined if they became unlimited.

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by 4X4

It's like the stone age over here with cabs. I got denied on the weekend for a ride to the deep south by a cabbie. He didn't want to leave downtown. Fair enough.

It's not fair enough. It should be illegal. It should be impossible to be "denied" a taxi. This is the case in BC. It should be equally illegal for cab companies to give you a busy tone. Even if the wait time is an hour, or whatever, they have to give you at least the option to get a lift.

[ken0042]

What are they worth here, and how many are there? I'm just thinking that if the total value is something that taxpayers could absorb, there could be some sort of buyout in place. If it's for the greater good.

[fredr123]

The city charges the same fees for licenses and plates across the board and the plates are supposedly non-transferable. Here's an outline of the process the last time new plates were released in 2013 (in business-like Comic Sans, no less): http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/DBA/Docume...on-process.pdf

The city charges renewal fees for licenses and plates and charges brokerage fees and transfer fees: http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/ABS/Pages...-and-Fees.aspx

But none of this suggests that plates are worth $200k and up except on a secondary market. And if that's the case, the city isn't getting a cut, right? So why should the city care if adding new plates and getting more cabs on the streets devalue existing plates and undermining what seems to be a sketchy at best and illegal at worst secondary market?

The city should have no other interest than providing affordable and safe transportation for citizens and unless there are additional fees or kickbacks I'm not seeing, they could accomplish this goal by adding more plates. Make the fees high enough to cover the costs of inspecting the cabs for safety and to ensure that only serious bidders apply. Then get out of the way.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by ken0042

What are they worth here, and how many are there? I'm just thinking that if the total value is something that taxpayers could absorb, there could be some sort of buyout in place. If it's for the greater good.

I don't think that the city should be buying anyone out here. The city should have almost no place in this business (or any business really). The fact that there are a few guys who have tied their net worth up in taxi licenses is their own decision. They take the risks and earn the rewards that come from that. One of the risks is that they aren't providing good enough service and as a result their investments aren't worth as much. That is the risk that any other business owner takes, realistically.

[Table 5]

Agreed, the fact that the plates themselves have become a commodity on the secondary market should have no bearing on what the City does. The primary point of taxi cabs are to provide transportation, not to act as people's guaranteed retirement plan.

[ken0042]

You are probably right Slava. I'm just trying to think of a way of solving the taxi shortage issue. It's to the point where I won't attend certain functions because I know I will want to drink, and there is no guarantee that I will be able to get a ride home.

I also know of situations where people have been sitting in their car to warm up while dialing for a cab, and making the bad decision to chance driving home drunk. Stuff like that should never happen.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by ken0042

You are probably right Slava. I'm just trying to think of a way of solving the taxi shortage issue. It's to the point where I won't attend certain functions because I know I will want to drink, and there is no guarantee that I will be able to get a ride home.

I also know of situations where people have been sitting in their car to warm up while dialing for a cab, and making the bad decision to chance driving home drunk. Stuff like that should never happen.

If I'm heading home from downtown after a few beers, I end up taking transit. It takes a little longer, but the price is right.

The cab situation is pathetic here. It's to the point where you can't even get one to show up to take you to the airport at 5:30am. My parents have landed after midnight and have been told it's a 2 hour wait. no excuse for that.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by habernac

My parents have landed after midnight and have been told it's a 2 hour wait. no excuse for that.

The fact that only one cab company is allowed to pickup from the airport is probably the biggest joke of all.

[SeeGeeWhy]

It shouldn't be illegal for innovators like uber to operate in Calgary.

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by habernac

My parents have landed after midnight and have been told it's a 2 hour wait. no excuse for that.

That's surprising. The airport is the one place I've never had an issue or heard of one with getting a cab. Getting TO the airport though? That's another story...

Once during Stampede I had a friend visiting whose flight was a red-eye. I didn't have a car at the time. Turns out, the connecting bus that takes you to the airport from what I believe at the time was McKnight-Westwinds station didn't run that late. Meanwhile, no cab company will pick up the phone during Stampede. It was actually impossible to get transportation to the airport for a flight that day. That cannot happen in a city that aspires to be anything remotely similar to world-class.