. E-mail This Article

Fare game

Cab drivers want rate increase by Feb. 20

Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Feb 19/01) - Almost 20 taxis sat with their engines running outside Iqaluit's municipal office, Feb. 13, to show their dissatisfaction with the town.

Cab drivers have been asking the municipality since last December to increase the $3.75 flat-fare rate per person to $4.50.

The drivers, who are mainly self-employed, want the increase in place by Feb. 20, said cabbie spokesperson Phillip Perkins, who has driven a cab in town for 16 years.

"We'll see then," Perkins said, as he sat in a car in the parking lot to warm up after chatting with drivers outside. "I'm not one to threaten."

But he said cab drivers may withdraw their service for a couple of hours if the increase does not happen.

Perkins said drivers do not want to offend the town, but the average take-home pay per driver is not enough to live on because of high prices in Iqaluit.

He said his take-home pay is about $40 to $55 per day, or $1,000 per month.

"And this is our peak season," he said. "We should be making $100 per day, easy."

Service problems

The issue was brought up in council last month.

Council then decided to try and pass a bylaw that would allow them to increase the rate incrementally, every three months, if the drivers improved service.

Some people have complained about cabbies not providing consistent service, and that drivers take longer routes in order to pick up more people on the way.

"We looked at what was do-able here," said director of emergency and protective services Neville Wheaton. "It was an honest attempt by both parties to come to some agreement."

Council also looked at a taxi licensing process that would mean drivers are tested about routes, locations, and the bylaw itself.

"Maybe the taxi drivers havenšt seen the bylaw or know what is in it yet," said Wheaton.

The big problem is the length of time it is taking to get an increase in place.

Taxi drivers in Iqaluit compare the situation to one in Rankin Inlet where an increase happened almost immediately due to a different bylaw.

"We can't skirt around the legislative rules," Wheaton said, adding he wrote a brief, gave it to Mayor John Matthews and the issue will be brought up before council to approve for a first reading.