Calgary taxi lottery aims to get more cabs on the road

Several hundred taxi drivers packed a hotel ballroom in northeast Calgary Wednesday afternoon, hoping to be one of the lucky ones to get the okay for their cab to hit the road.

The City of Calgary held a lottery for 126 new taxi licence plates and almost 2,000 people applied to get one. The winners of the lottery will be able to add their vehicle to the current fleet of taxis operating on Calgary's roads — but they'll also have several rules to obey.

The new taxis will have to be on the roads every Friday and Saturday night when demand is at its peak. For those applying for the new plates, that wasn't a deterrent.

"You can set your own hours but then about the weekends, you can have a driver — anyone who's looking for [work] — they will be happy to work the weekend hours, that's where you make the most money," said Baljinder Singh, who applied for one of the plates so he can be his own boss.

The taxis will have to be on the road soon, and bylaw officials say the hope is to have them taking calls during the busy holiday season.

As well, 14 of the new plates are designated for accessible taxis so that waits for the disabled community will also be reduced.