INUVIK
Inuvik has new taxi prices, but reaction is definitely mixed about whether the fares are fair.
Inuvik Deputy-mayor Jim McDonald calls the new municipal taxi rates fair and reasonable. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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As expected, town council approved new rates, which come into effect May 24, for two Inuvik taxi companies on April 24. A full schedule of rates will be published in notices from the town over the next two weeks, but the fares for the downtown core are rising to $6 from the current $5. Other rates for outside the core area are comparable or higher, such as an airport run now being $30, up from $25.
While the council approved the rates unanimously, several members were ambivalent.
Mayor Floyd Roland said he had spoken directly to the ownership of one of the cab companies, who expressed no problem with the proposed rates. He said he had been unable to speak to the ownership of the second company.
Public reaction has been quiet as well.
"So far there have been no direct contacts to the (town) office about this," he said.
Coun. Clarence Wood said he didn't think new rates were necessary.
"I think it's good the way it is," he said.
Coun. Melinda Gillis noted she had been tracking the issue via local social media sites such as Inuvik Rant and Rave. So far, she said the reaction had been quiet.
"What I've seen has been mostly positive," she said.
However, Couns. Kurt Wainman and Joe Lavoie saw it differently. Both said they had been approached by taxi drivers upset about the changes.
"Two guys I talked to were quite upset it was going up," Wainman said.
They were afraid they would lose business with the increase, he added.
"I was approached by a taxi driver who was quite upset with the new rates as well," Lavoie said.
Maung Win, one of the co-owners of Delta Cabs, was more positive. He called the change "a very minimal increase, which is what we wanted."
He was still assessing the public reaction.
"We want everybody to be happy here," he said. "It looks like everyone is winning."
He said the rising cost of living in Inuvik was the driving force for the request for a fare increase.
"It's expensive to live here, especially with rising energy costs," Win said.
The mixed reactions described by the council members were corroborated by Newton Grey, the president of the Inuvik Chamber of Commerce. He said he has talked to a couple of drivers as well. One was upset the increase was too small, while the other thought it was too much.
"I feel where we're at now is a fair price," deputy mayor Jim McDonald said. "Fares here are quite reasonable, or even low, compared to Yellowknife and some other cities."
Both Grey and Roland suggested the cab drivers have an ongoing discussion with the town about the rates, and not leave it for 10 to 12 years as is the case now. The last time the companies received a raise was approximately 2000.
