Taxi stands to ease downtown cab crunch

It might be easier to find a cab in downtown Calgary starting this weekend with the introduction of a dozen new taxi stands that will be scattered around the city's inner core.

The Late Night Ride Home Stands — located near restaurants, theatres and bars downtown, along 17th Avenue S.W. and in the Beltline — will operate from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., Thursday to Sunday morning.

"Our stands are strategically located so that our customers, our clients can easily find them after a night out," said Marc Halat, who is the city's chief livery officer.

Calgary's taxi industry has long complained that there were not enough places to wait for fares in the city centre.

"I think if you have a place for taxis to queue up you'll have more taxis that will frequent the place because they've got some place to park," said Jeff Garland, general manager of Associated Cab.

The city and its industry partners will monitor how many people use the stands and decide whether to expand the program, officials said.

"Many Calgarians told us their number one need was to have easier access to taxis to get home safely after a night out," said the city's project manager Lorna Wallace.