Summary
Incredibly, Winnipeg has about the same number of cabs as it did in 1946, a fact that would tend to support critics who believe the oligarchy has limited competition to pad its pockets. It's possible that people needed taxis more often in the past because many families didn't own a car, but it's just as reasonable to wonder if the number has remained static because Winnipeggers have become discouraged with poor, unreliable and increasingly expensive service over the years. The system should operate on a supply and demand basis, not just supply. Keeping a rigid control on the number of taxies, it would seem, has simply throttled casual demand and forced up the cost of service when necessary.
Barry Prentice, a transportation expert at the University of Manitoba, correctly feels that it's unreasonable and probably pointless to open the market for five months only. He has suggested allowing seasonable cabs to operate as hail-only cabs for the other seven months of the year. That would make them viable as a business and solve the difficulty that some people experience in trying to hail a cab, while protecting the incomes of the dispatch-only cabs. Mr. Prentice even suggests the hail cabs be allowed to negotiate their own terms and fees, a concept that is unfamiliar to most cities in North America, but which is worth considering as a way of encouraging a more market-oriented taxi force.See the full content of this document
Extract
Fair Deal for Taxis
Fair deal
for taxis11The analysis by the Tennessee Transportation and Logistics Foundation said the city is already well served by its cab companies, except during winter when service can be woefully inadequate because of heavier demand. It advises against deregulation, ...See the full content of this document
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