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Too many taxi plates, Iqaluit cabbies say
"We are fighting for scraps"
JIM BELL
Mark Hobson, a taxi owner-operator inIqaluit, says an oversupply of taxi plates is damaging the industry. Saying they're suffering from too many cabs and not enough paying customers, Iqaluit's taxi companies say they want Iqaluit city council to reduce the number of taxi plates issued in Iqaluit.
"We are not making enough money right now to make ends meet. The situation is causing considerable animosity between drivers and it encourages speeding and unethical driving practices, as we are fighting for scraps," Mark Hobson, an Iqaluit owner-operator, told Iqaluit city council this past Tuesday.
Hobson, who said he represents Iqaluit's taxi industry, told councillors that about 110 taxi plates have been issued.
But he said that number should be gradually reduced to about 90.
This oversupply of taxi plates means that there's not enough business to provide drivers with a living wage, Hobson said. And rising costs, such as the hourly rates charged by garage mechanics for repairs, are taking a big bite out of taxi revenues.
Hobson said the average Iqaluit taxi driver makes less than $100 after a 12-hour shift, out of which they still have to pay dispatch fees and other expenses.
On top of that, taxi drivers still have to deal with obnoxious, sometimes violent drunks, and often get burned by non-paying customers. Most of that happens on the night shift, when they get the unwelcome task of ferrying drunks from one place to another.
"When the new drivers see what they have to go through every day with such small revenue, some don't stay or some don't come back... The word is, don't go driving a taxi in Iqaluit, because it's not worth it anymore..." Hobson said.
If this situation continues, the taxi industry in Iqaluit will die, Hobson said.
Coun. Theresa Rodrigue, however, said there are still too many "bad" taxi drivers who give the goods ones a bad name.
She said she still hears many complaints about taxi drivers who abuse customers, seduce young girls, smoke inside their cabs, and refuse to go to certain destinations, such as Apex.
Hobson responded by saying that he agrees some drivers are not following the rules, and that city bylaw officers and the RCMP should do more to enforce the city's taxi bylaw.
But he said many drivers refuse to go to certain addresses because of customers who don't pay.
"There are certain house numbers I won't go to because the people there never pay," Hobson said.
Iqaluit's taxi drivers will soon present the city with a petition asking for a cap to be placed on the number of taxi plates.
Later this year, city council is to do a review of Iqaluit's taxi bylaw
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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
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