Saskatoon taxis by the numbers

The Saskatoon taxi industry has been in the news recently. Rideshare company Uber is interested in expanding into the province.

Cab companies and drivers are worried the unregulated cabs will flood the market and destroy the taxi industry.

To help clarify the situation, we decided to take a closer look into the state of the cab business.

How many cabs are there in Saskatoon right now?  

There are 210 taxis driving in the city right now. However, there are three classifications of cabs. 

There are 165 permanent licensed taxis (or plates) in the city. As well, the city offers 21 temporary accessible cab licenses, and 24 seasonal taxi licenses. The city offers seasonal taxi licenses to keep up with increased demand in the fall and winter. They are offered to existing drivers in a lottery system. The city increased the amount of temporary and seasonal licenses this year.

How much does a taxi license cost?

It depends. The cost of a temporary/seasonal license is $375.00, set by the city. However, the cost of a permanent license is much higher. Permanent licenses are bought and sold on the open market, and are not set by the city. The city keeps a copy of each bill of sale from each permanent license sale. Since the number of permanent licenses remains static, they can be very expensive. Permanent license holders say the going rate is $200,000.

How long can you expect to wait for a cab in Saskatoon?

A city report from 2014 said that almost 90 per cent of riders had wait times of 10 minutes or less.

What about the airport?

The airport is a special case. Since the airport is private property controlled by the Saskatoon Airport Authority, City Hall does not control cabs that travel to the airport. The airport authority has an exclusive contract with United Cabs/BlueLine Taxis. In addition to the regular taxis, it also offers a limousine service specific to the airport.

Slow taxi service to the airport has become a serious issue for Saskatoon City Hall. Councillor Darren Hill said it was one of the reasons behind issuing a review of taxi services last year.

Is there a limit on the number of drivers attached to a permanent cab?

No. The number of drivers who drive an individual cab is up to the owner