Shortage of late-night taxis leaves some residents facing a long walk home
Charlottetown taxi companies say they can't keep up with demand during peak hours
After enjoying a night out at the P.E.I. International Shellfish Festival, Diane McGuirk and her husband tried to book a cab to get them from Charlottetown to their home in Stratford.
But McGuirk says after spending 45 minutes calling three different taxi companies, they gave up.
"The phone just rang. So not even a 'hey, look we won't be able to get you for an hour,'" McGuirk said.
Instead of waiting any longer, the pair decided to walk home across the Hillsborough bridge. She said the walk took at least an hour, and the experience is prompting her to speak out about a lack of available taxis late at night.
Long walk home
McGuirk and her husband weren't the only ones who had a long trek home Saturday night after failing to get a cab.
P.E.I. RCMP tweeted that their officers saw a number of people walking across the Hillsborough Bridge Saturday night — and thanked people for not drinking and driving.
We spoke with some pedestrians crossing the Hillsborough Bridge last night during our check point who said he was too hard to find a cab so they had to walk, we appreciate your frustration and want to say “THANK YOU” for not drinking and driving!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DriveSoberPEI?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DriveSoberPEI</a> Cst. Parsons
—@RCMPPEITrafficMcGuirk says she's concerned a lack of taxis could lead to more impaired driving, or to other safety problems.
"We're lucky right now, we've got great weather," she said. "But … if it's you know, raining, you have a car that goes out of control, you've got somebody walking home, it's just not a good situation."
Taxi companies can't meet demand
Charlottetown taxi companies say the inability to meet demand on busy weekend nights is an ongoing problem.
Paul MacPhail, bookkeeper and driver with Co-op Taxi said it's been a particularly busy summer, and during peak hours, dispatchers can't answer all the calls coming in.
There's lots of people out there, but you have to find people that you would want to ride in a taxi with.- Paul MacPhail, Co-op Taxi
"If you have, say, 30 people dialling the same number at one time, then the phone system puts them in a queue," MacPhail said. "It could be 15, it could be 20 minutes before the dispatcher actually gets to answer that particular line… just because there's so many calls coming through."
At Yellow Cab, owner Kirby Eldershaw said he's facing the same problem. He employs more than 30 drivers, and there are usually more than 20 on the road on Friday and Saturday nights, but that's often not enough.
"My cell phone rings some nights at two, three, four o'clock in the morning when I'm at home," he said. "Just friends saying you know, 'they're not picking up.' And I just tell them, try again. They will pick up. It's just that they're probably busy at the time."
Eldershaw says the problem is sometimes made worse, when customers book taxis from multiple companies, and the cabs all show up at the same place.
Need for more drivers
Both MacPhail and Eldershaw say the crux of the problem is a lack of drivers during those peak hours. Both say their companies would hire more, but it's not always easy to find them.
"There's lots of people out there, but you have to find people that you would want to ride in a taxi with. And not everybody can do that," MacPhail said.
McGuirk said she understands that there will be increased demand on nights when there are large events being held. She doesn't know what a solution would look like, but she hopes something can be done.