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Fourth taxi company is approved for NB

North Battleford is about to add a fourth cab company. At their meeting Monday, city council approved an application from River Side Cab, owned by Mereamo Seru and Yanfeng Sun. They have been granted approval to operate five taxi cabs in the city.
taxi pic

North Battleford is about to add a fourth cab company.

At their meeting Monday, city council approved an application from River Side Cab, owned by Mereamo Seru and Yanfeng Sun. They have been granted approval to operate five taxi cabs in the city.

One issue council had to consider was whether the market would be oversaturated with River Side Cab’s arrival. The city currently has three licensed cab companies and one ride-share service with 32 vehicles currently in service, according to a city memo.

But administration provided numbers from a number of comparatively sized cities showing the number of cabs and cab companies would still be in line with what other cities are able to handle, albeit at the higher end of the scale. According to that city memo, Portage la Prairie, Man. has nine taxi companies with 35 vehicles while Thompson has three cab companies and 42 vehicles.

Junior Planner Brett Kitchen said the city has “no concerns at this time that the market is oversaturated. However, we will continue to monitor the market.”

The taxi cab industry in North Battleford has seen exponential growth since the city brought in a new vehicle-for-hire bylaw during the previous council term in 2019. That bylaw ended the long-standing monopoly on taxi licences by Crown Cab, and opened the market to other private cab companies and ride-share services.

Other companies that have set up in the Battlefords since the bylaw was passed include NB City Cab Inc., and FastTaxi - Fast Ride Taxicab Service. Fast Ride also operates a ride-share service.

River Side Cab must still provide the city with drivers’ names and vehicle registrations before they are issued a licence by the city, and drivers will need to submit to annual criminal record checks in accordance with the vehicle-for-hire bylaw. According to the city, the applicants have submitted their intent to open office space on 98th Street.