Vancouver Cab Co. closes after 93 years
By Tom Vogt
The Columbian
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) – After 93 years in business, Vancouver Cab Co. has come to the end of the road.
Owner Belinda Ray blamed an oversupply of cabs on Vancouver streets, including taxis from two Portland, Ore., operators that she said have had an unfair advantage over the years.
The business technically was closed on Friday, Ray said.
On Thursday, the company started laying off drivers and notifying customers, she said.
The company had 32 employees. The company had permits to operate 21 cabs in Vancouver. It took in $775,000 in fares in 2007.
The move leaves Vancouver with no hometown taxi service. While Radio Cab and Broadway Cab are listed in Vancouver telephone directories, they are based in Portland, Ore.
“They're huge,” Ray said. “We're small and can't compete against them. Northwest Cab just shut down a few months ago. I'm the second one they put out of business.”
During the years, Ray said, the Portland companies have been able to expand their operations by picking up fares in Vancouver, even though it was illegal. A Portland cabbie was allowed to drive a fare here, and a Vancouver driver was allowed to take a passenger to Portland. But neither cabbie was supposed to pick up a fare in the other city.
The difference was that Portland enforced the rule while Vancouver didn't, she said.
Then, in February, the two Portland companies received official approval to pick up passengers here. A Vancouver commission that oversees taxis granted eight permits apiece to Broadway Cab and Radio Cab. Another eight went to Clark County Cab, based in Ridgefield, Wash., and Vancouver Cab got one additional permit, said Bob Bess, who coordinates compliance for the vehicle-for-hire laws.
Ray said she urged city officials to ease into the expansion of service. She said you can't put that many additional cabs on Vancouver streets “without killing somebody's business off.”
Not only does the closure affect its employees and customers, but “We've used Vancouver businesses for our needs. There is a trickle-down effect, and a lot of people will be suffering because of this,” Ray said.
