Edmonton limousine companies say COVID-19 has devastated their industry but the City of Edmonton is making their problems worse.
“It’s disappointing. It’s deflating,” said Suzan Burtic, who owns Legends Limousine with her husband Liveu.
“I’m angry. How can they be so callous?”
Limo companies are required to pay dispatch and licensing fees to the City of Edmonton. For the Burtic’s fleet of four limousines, that amounts to about $2,700 per year.
Burtic said several limousine companies met with city officials Wednesday who told them they needed to pay their fees or they could be ticketed.
Burtic said several of the companies asked the city to waive their 2020 fees given the COVID-19 crisis. That didn’t happen during the meeting.
“We’re trying to keep ourselves afloat but the city only wants its pound of flesh.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Burtics decided to park their fleet of limousines in a storage facility.
Eighty per cent of Legends Limousine’s business comes from weddings and graduations. Those markets disappeared in 2020.
The company also gets a lot of work from Christmas parties. The Burtics doubt there will be many of those this year either.
The company says it is trying to survive until demand for limousine service returns. If fees aren’t waived, Legends’ owners aren’t sure they can make it through the month.
“That’s quite a lump sum to get from nowhere when you’re not working,” Suzan said.
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Protocol Limousines says it too wants help from the city.
Sylvain Vezina said he’d welcome fee waivers but the bigger issue to him is how the city is responding to industry concerns.
Vezina says during Wednesday’s meeting, city workers polled limo companies about how business was but he felt the real purpose was to remind companies that their fees are due.
“City hall right now hasn’t been treating us like citizens,” Vezina said.
“They’re saying pay and we’ll see what happens later. That’s not the way that you treat people when they’re telling you they’re starving for business.”
The city says it is looking into the concerns of limousine companies.
Administration is working on a series of recommendations that will go before city councillors, likely later in September.
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In an email, a city spokesperson wrote:
“One of the options under consideration is a 50 per cent reduction in dispatcher and vehicle licensing fees for 2020, with the same 50 per cent reduction being extended to the 2021 licence fees for companies who have already provided full payment in 2020 in lieu of issuing a refund.
“The EAC also asked administration to bring forward information on the impacts of extending the fee reductions to driver licensing fees.”
The Burtics say 50 per cent off their fees likely won’t help that much. They’re trying to survive and any cost feels excessive.
Co-owner Liveu isn’t sure his company can survive beyond September. He gets emotional when thinking of having to shutter his business.
“After 22 years, working so hard,” he says before pausing and collecting himself. “It’s a shame.”
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