Family Taxi owner Vi Werchola wants town council to deregulate cab licenses. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Cab services

Family Taxi owner asks council to regulate cab licences

May 23, 2019 | 4:51 PM

Family Taxi owner Vi Werchola approached town council at a regular meeting Wednesday asking them to regulate municipal cab licences.

“It’s really gone down for us in the town,” she said. “Four or five days per month now we’re busy as far as locals and that’s not enough. The rest of the time if you drive around, you’ll see taxis here, there and all over. Local business in the Town of La Ronge has gone down considerably in the last few years.”

With increasing costs in the taxi industry and personal health concerns as well, Werchola stated she’s worried about the value of her business for when the time comes to sell. Without regulating the number of cab licences, of which Family Taxi currently has the majority, she noted there’s no value to them as acquiring new licences through the town is relatively inexpensive.

Werchola also explained the cost of operating her business is increasing with prices for gasoline, labour and parts rising. Being 71, she also added early mornings and long days are starting to take a toll on her health.

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“After 20 years of service, how am I ever going to be able to sell my taxi company unless they are back to the way they used to be and be regulated?” Werchola said. “I’m asking you to put them back into a regulated number of plates, so it would be saleable.”

Mayor Ron Woytowich immediately raised the issue about how a previous council years ago deregulated taxi licences at the request of Family Taxi. He stated there could be liabilities for the town if they backtracked on that previous decision.

“Of those who were in business at the time all opposed it because the value of their cabs was suddenly nothing and we were sued,” Woytowich said. “That didn’t go very far because they couldn’t prove the damage, but what I was told at that time, if we ever changed it back, he could turn around and sue us.”

Werchola explained the company asked for deregulation at the time so they could purchase more cabs to do full-time medical trips in and out of town for the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. That contract only lasted for five years, however, but Family Taxi still does medical trips for the band in the evenings, weekends and holidays.

While council passed a motion to refer the matter to the governance committee for a recommendation, Coun. Matt Klassen and Coun. Jordan McPhail stated they would be in favour of keeping taxis deregulated.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno