Is There a Cab Conspiracy in Calgary?

If you live in Calgary you know that we are having a huge issue with taxis as of late. You either know from experience, or have seen any number of newscasts about the "problem." If you have tried calling a cab any time in the past few months you have most likely got a busy signal, or, worse yet, simply did not have your call answered. On the news the cab company execs are saying that they are short drivers—about 200 of them—this number will be important soon. Well, I had an interesting chat with a taxi driver on my way to the airport last week.

Throughout the city of Calgary there are currently 1300 taxis in operation. The two main companies operate between 850 and 900 of these cars. According to the driver I spoke with, a city of one million people needs approximately 600 cars. This number, I'm sure, is open to debate and is dependent on an unlimited number of issues. However—according to the driver—having double this amount is not nearly good enough for the big two, and they want the city to issue 200 more taxi plates. The city does not want to do this, as they figure there is already enough taxis taking care of the city.

Cab companies earn approximately $400 a week per car from their drivers, so for the sake of this article we will assume that they earn approximately $1600 per month per car. So if the city were to issue another 200 plates, the cab companies would earn another $320,000 per month, or nearly four million dollars a year in extra revenue.

Since the city won't issue the companies these plates, the operators are now playing a full-out game with the public. By refusing to answer the phones, or simply having them ring busy all the time it gives the public the impression that they are so incredibly busy that they can't possibly get to the phone. However, at any given time there are approximately 200 taxis sitting at the airport waiting in line for fares.

When I got to the airport last Tuesday the driver made a point of showing me this queue, and sure enough at 9:00pm on Tuesday—apparently not a very busy time for arrivals—there were a good 150 to 200 cabs just sitting there. My driver told me that each one of these drivers will sit there for at least two hours before their turn comes up, and they get a fare. Keep in mind that fares can be anywhere between $15 and $60. It just seems weird to me that this many cabs sit for two hours on the chance of getting a $60 fare when apparently the cab companies are so busy they can't answer their phones. It doesn't make sense!

Apparently the drivers who sit at the airport do so because dispatch isn't sending them any calls throughout the city. Well, I wonder if that's because they aren't picking up their phones.

And so it stands. The cab companies pretend they are too busy to try and force the city to release more taxi plates. The city figures there are already enough plates out there—apparently they are right—and probably knows that the taxi companies are just trying to force a cash grab. Who knows when this crap will end. All I know is that something needs to happen, as us citizens are already upset with the level of service we've been receiving.

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