Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan is pushing British Columbia's Passenger Transportation Board to approve more taxi licenses and get more cabs moving on Vancouver streets by 2010.
In a letter to the board, Sullivan said more taxis are needed to support not only the cruise ship sector, but also a record number of events leading up to the start of the 2010 Olympic Games.
The mayor says he wants 820 cars by the time the games begin. That's up from the 577 taxis, which are cruising the streets right now.
But taxi drivers say there isn't sufficient business to justify an increase in the number of licenses.
"We don't have much business here, its pretty slow,'' said one taxi driver.
Jagwinder Sahota says the competition in the cab industry is already too stiff.
"Where is the business? Why am I sitting here, if it is lack of taxis, why is my meter not running?
He says in 12 hours he clears $120. "You want to drive a cab for 12 hours for minimum wage?" he said.
Black Top general manager John Palis says instead approving more licenses, out of town cabs should be given the right to work in Vancouver during the Olympics.
"Why not do what we did in [during Expo] 86, allow suburban cab companies to come into Vancouver and service the venues,'' he said.
If the mayor sees this as a potential problem, Palis is curious as to why Olympic organizers haven't bothered to approach the taxi companies.
"Not once has VANOC ever approached the taxi industry and expressed some of these ideas. [We are completely in the dark as to what 2010 represents to the taxi industry,'' Palis said.
At City Hall, Dale Bracewell is in charge of Olympic transportation. He says the panic is furore over taxi licenses is premature.
"We are still in the planning stage and won't finalize the plan until early 2009."
As a result, authorities who oversee the taxi sector face a delicate balancing act. They must keep the industry profitable, while making sure Vancouver residents can get a cab when they need one.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Lisa Rossington.
