Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Disabled Winnipeggers underserved by cabs, board told
The two largest taxicab companies in Winnipeg were accused Monday of operating a cartel by one of many applicants for new licences.
In his application for 50 new licences before the Manitoba Taxicab Board, Mike Akinola, an outspoken veteran cabbie, said the Winnipeg taxi business is controlled by Unicity and Duffy’s and that they are preventing competition to protect their own interests.
"They do whatever they want," he said. "Enough is enough."
Akinola’s comments were made after he presented correspondence to the board from organizations including Independent Living Resource Centre and the Canadian Centre on Disability Studies who endorsed Akinola’s contention that Winnipeg needs more accessible cabs.
But Sidney Soronow, lawyer for both Unicity and Duffy’s, argued there are enough accessible cabs and that the ones on the road already have a hard time generating enough revenue to make them economically viable.
Soronow also presented data showing that only in December do Unicity and Duffy’s operate at full capacity.
However, Akinola said the data do not include undispatched calls.
Soronow went on to say that not only is there sufficient supply to meet all the demand, adding substantial numbers of additional cars will damage the industry.
"This won’t enhance it, it will destroy the industry," he said. "I ask you (the Taxicab Board) to reject this application. The health of the industry is at stake."
Akinola said he did not believe he was getting a fair hearing after the acting board chairman, city councillor Harry Lazerenko, hurried his presentation.
"The lawyer opposing my application (Soronow) spoke for longer than I did and he was not told to hurry up," he said.
The dispute and confrontational tone of the hearing may be setting the stage for more of the same as the Taxicab Board now has about 800 new licence applications on its books. Prior to Monday, it had heard presentations for more than 250 licences.
Unicity and Duffy’s have opposed each of the applications. Those two companies control 379 of the 436 regular and accessible cabs in the city.
Their opposition includes data showing average wait times between fares of close to one hour at times of the day, as evidence there is plenty of capacity in the market.
But Akinola said if the industry is struggling, why do licence values continue to increase, even though the price of many other commercial assets are falling.
The August issue of the Taxicab Board’s newsletter listed the average resale price of a taxicab licence in Winnipeg as $219,293.
Taxicab Board officials have said they are still considering a U.S. consultant’s analysis of the supply and demand of cabs in the city, and will hear presentations for all the new applications before the board makes any decision.
The report has not been made public.
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