After almost four decades, a local taxicab company is parking its business at the curb for the first time in response to the coronavirus crisis.
Sunshine Cabs, based in West Vancouver, will put the brakes on operations at 9 p.m. Saturday.
The move will shut the local taxi business for as long as COVID-19 is a concern, said Gurdip Sahota, general manager of the company.
The move will result in layoffs for 16 or 17 full- and part-time dispatchers and end work for about 100 taxi drivers.
Sahota said the company made the decision reluctantly after monitoring the situation over the past few weeks.
At first “we tried distributing cleaning products to our drivers,” he said.
But “it’s come to the point where the risks are just too high,” he said.
“Our vehicles are confined spaces. Under no circumstances can we ensure a two-metre physical separation [between drivers and passengers]. We cannot ensure the safety of either party.”
Sahota said business has been falling off in recent weeks as concerns about coronavirus spread. Although only one other taxi company, in Surrey, has announced a closure, many others are “barely functioning,” said Sahota. “They’ve got 80 to 90 per cent of the fleet parked.”
The issue has been a particular concern in North and West Vancouver because “the North Shore has been a bit of a hotspot for COVID-19 cases,” he said.
Sahota said the coronavirus has been a double whammy for the industry, which was already reeling with the advent of ride-hailing in the province. “This has been a one-two punch to the gut of our industry,” he said.
The taxi industry isn’t alone in feeling the pinch in the transportation sector as everyone in the province is told to stay at home, except for essential trips.
Transit ridership has also dropped dramatically.
Sahota said the shutdown of the taxi company is intended to be temporary only.
“If we provide one less opportunity for someone to be in close quarters with another human being, we have to do our part,” he said.
North Shore Taxi, the other local cab company, is still operating and has no plans to shut down, said head dispatcher Terry Lewis.
Although business is way down, there are still people who need transportation, he said. “They have to get out to get groceries and prescriptions and to doctor’s appointments and work.”
Lewis said the taxi company has been talking to grocery stores about the possibility of setting up some kind of system for grocery deliveries on the North Shore for a reduced rate. That has not yet been finalized, but Lewis said he may know more in the coming days.
