A city committee is recommending Calgary city council create a fund that could be used to improve accessible taxi service.
The Community Services Committee wants to see 20 cents added to every taxi or ride-sharing service trip that could be put toward the fund – up to a maximum of $5,000 a year.
A report claims there are 189 accessible taxi licenses in the City of Calgary and that 26 have been returned by drivers because of the high cost of providing the service.
On Wednesday, people who use the service went before the committee to share their experience with poor service.
Some said they had to wait five hours for an accessible cab to show up, while other said their ride never arrived.
“I’ve missed very important business meetings; I’ve also missed an airplane flight,” said Harold Crittenden.
“These are things that, you know, I think most people take for granted. You phone a cab to go to the airport, cab comes takes you to the airport.”
Councillors on the committee agreed that something needs to be done.
“We’ve inherited a mess from the past and they’re we’re dealing with a tremendous amount of disruption that’s coming down the pike into this industry that’s messing things up further,” said Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra.
“And we have people who call, are told they’re going to get picked up and then don’t get picked up which is just absolutely heartbreaking.”
The committee wants all options to improve the service to be explored, including a centralized dispatched service that could handle calls for specialized service.
“We’re not addressing needs properly and, I think, turning to that one trusted resource, that can get them the ride they need regardless of whether it’s booked in advance or booked right now – that’s what we need to focus on,” said Councillor Jyoti Gondek.
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