Calgary Taxi Service.

[Blue_Cypress]

It's abysmal. It's embarrassing. It's absolutely terrible. We're at the point of having to hire on a town car for the entirety of each client visit to ensure reasonable service, or pay for a rental car and parking for the duration of client visits. How do you guys deal with this issue? We tried direct line with associated and that was actually worse! I've been many places in the world, and never ever had such trouble hiring transportation. What the hell is going on?

[DizzyEdge]

Although I haven't tried it yet, some yellow/checker drivers have strongly encouraged me to use their app or website to order, bypassing dispatch completely.

[Policy Wonk]

I couldn't tell you how many times I have ended up in a mad dash driving a colleague or client to the airport because their taxi didn't show up.

The thing that baffles me is how many taxis I see queued up in places where it just doesn't seem very likely they're going to get a fare, much less half a dozen of them, especially in the evening.

I was visiting a friend at Foothills last week and by the time I left it was after 9:30PM. The same bunch of taxi drivers who were standing around when I got there were still there more than an hour later. Who gets discharged at that hour?

I have seen the same thing around the Jubilee. The show isn't letting out until... what? 11:00? Why are you here? Are the kids taking night classes at ACAD that lucrative? What is this business model where you wait hours for a single fare, that may well be going all the way to Cambrian Heights when there are people trying to get a cab downtown? How many fares could you fit in elsewhere while you're standing around on the chance you're going to get a fare going to Bearspaw?

[Fuzz]

I find it ridiculous at the airport. They have hundreds of cabs waiting, yet when you need one, there are 3 in the waiting area. You can have 30 people in line, but they only ever call 3 forward at a time. See that line of 30 people? Call 10 cabs. Trust me, they won't be there for long. Its not difficult.

[Full Mountain]

Maybe it's time for a lawsuit against the city for market manipulation, not a lawyer but it would seem the whole thing is rigged in favour of the plate owners.

I support complete removal of the cap on plates with the only restrictions being licensing, insurance, and inspections.

[Fuzz]

They are also amount the worst drivers in Calgary. I wonder how they are even able to get licenses. And I have yet to get in a cab that knows where Highwood is.

[Policy Wonk]

The taxi industry and their families vote, the kids waiting for a cab on 17th Ave on a cold January night don't.

When I need to go somewhere and driving isn't practical (which usually means I'm worried about a crackhead smashing my window to steal my $20 Bluetooth headset) a taxi doesn't even enter into my thought process. I'm pretty sure when I still worked downtown I would have contemplated kayaking before calling a cab.

I don't think I have uttered the words "lets take a cab" in the last fifteen years.

Meanwhile one of my friends spends a lot of time at the Chevron El Segundo facility. When they want to go for a real meal or shopping they just fire up Uber and a million black cars waiting around LAX pop up and for ~$20 deliver her to any number of malls and restaurants.

[Innersoul1]

This is the perfect rant thread just in time for Christmas. Nothing like all those downtown Christmas parties and the impossibility of getting a cab home.

I live up in Aspen and I love the idea that they have floated of having cab stands at nodes like Westbrook station. I would love to take the train home and I often use the train to get downtown or to Flames games. However on the way back if I choose to stay out late I can't take the train because I end up stuck at 69th Street station. That being said, I don't see these stands being realistic given the shortage of rides at this point.

[Spring2008]

I believe the city's issuing ~500 new plates in phases, and mandating that the new ones all work fri/sat nights.