Fredericton business owners concerned over taxi shortage

Restaurant and bar owners in Fredericton say they’re concerned over the shortage of taxis in the city, and several are voicing their concerns to the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce.

11th Mile restaurant co-owner Jennie Wilson told Global News she’s concerned for the safety of customers when there are no cabs available.

Wilson and her husband recently moved back to New Brunswick from Toronto to open their Regent Street business.

She said she often calls several of the taxi companies in the city for customers and it takes quite a long time for cabs to arrive, raising safety concerns.

“It’s come more and more to the forefront that people are concerned about how they’re going to get home at the end of the night, especially if they’ve been drinking,” Wilson said.

Wilson said she thinks more and more people are choosing to stay home as it gets more difficult to get a taxi home.

Wilson has taken her concerns to the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce.

“I just think as the province’s capital, it’s important that when people fly in here, they can get cabs from the airport. It’s important that people can get cabs to the airport, so I’m of course, shining light on this particular aspect of running a small business.

“But I think it impacts us in a larger sense when we think about the fact that we are the province’s capital and we are hosting guests, especially as new hotels go up and we try to draw more and more business to this centre, people need to be able to get around especially when our weather is so inclement so much of the time,” Wilson said.

Corked Wine bar owner Charlotte Burhoe told Global News she agrees with Wilson, and said the shortage is concerning.

“What I’ve been seeing recently is it’s increasingly harder to get a taxi so that the customer can go home. Many nights we’ve been calling the taxi on behalf of the customer and we, of course, know all the numbers and will cycle through and then we wait and sometimes we’re closed and waiting for someone to come pick up our last customer,” Burhoe said.

She said that raises safety concerns when people are waiting for cabs alone outside… and said she can’t drive them home because of liability issues.

Fredericton Chamber of Commerce CEO Krista Ross confirmed the chamber has been contacted by several local business owners.

Ross said the chamber has been working on setting up a meeting in the coming weeks with business owners to sit down and talk about the issues.

“I have been in touch with some of the taxi business owners and their challenge is finding people who are interested in working in the industry and that’s an ongoing challenge for them,” Ross said.

Ross said she’s also working with the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick, and looking at how they can implement some of the training programs they have for the Fredericton taxi industry.

“I think there’s some positive that will come from this, certainly having the issue brought to the attention of the taxi companies, of the city, of downtown and of course, us at the chamber, we can spearhead some activity to work together and hopefully resolve some of those issues,” Ross said.

Checker Taxi co-owner Patrick Tahan said a shortage of drivers is his biggest problem right now.

“On a weekend night, I have maybe five or six vehicles parked in my yard when they should be on the road,” Tahan said.

He said licensing is one reason new drivers aren’t attracted to the profession.

“If there could be a fast track for them to get them licensed at Service New Brunswick, that would be a great benefit because it can take one to three months for someone to get a new licence,” Tahan said. “That’s after their testing and everything.

He said the company is “very flexible” with scheduling.

“Someone could come in for six or seven hours or someone can work 10 to 11 hours, we’re not really that strict here,” Tahan said.

He said it’s been a rough winter and thinks other industries are also likely experiencing staff shortages.

“I’m not sure if it’s a general thing in getting people to work more, but it’s like pulling teeth to get people to work these days,” Tahan said. “It’s been a rough winter so far with that deep freeze for three or four weeks and the weather.  Things will get better and we are working very hard here to get more drivers.”

He said he’s trying to get a licence for the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Project to bring in workers from overseas.

“I found since the Trudeau government came in, it’s been difficult to get people to work more. More benefits coming out these days are a deterrent for people to work, Tahan said. They’re scared to lose their big Child Tax checks and HST rebates and stuff. It’s a general problem, it’s not just with the taxi industry. ”

He said spring is “just around the corner” and said he will regroup and try and improve service before next winter.