Cabbies vow smooth ride for convention
By Chris Walsh, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published June 25, 2008 at 7:45 p.m.
Updated June 25, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.
Taxi companies said Wednesday they will ensure a smooth ride for visitors and locals during the Democratic National Convention, highlighting their efforts to boost communication, training and, in some cases, the number of cabs on the street.
"We're taking the DNC very seriously," Kyle Brown, general manager of Metro Taxi, told regulators with the Public Utilities Commission. "We're taking proactive measures to look at vehicles, drivers, driver appearance and training."
The PUC held the meeting so Denver's three cab companies - Metro, Yellow Cab and Freedom Cab - could provide an update on how they're preparing for the convention.
About 50,000 delegates, members of the media and other visitors will roll into town for the event, generating tens of millions of dollars in economic benefits - and an avalanche of cab rides.
Cab drivers emphasized that the city hosts similar-sized conventions each year.
"The current cab companies have experience with larger conventions. It's what we do," Brown said. "This type of convention is not unusual as far as size."
The media and security presence during the DNC, however, will dwarf anything Denver has experienced, and the city's reputation is on the line.
With that in mind, cab companies say they are spending lots of time preparing for the big event.
Metro plans to double the number of hybrid taxis in its fleet in time for the convention, adding up to 30 Toyota Priuses. It will have 10 wheelchair-accessible vans and additional street supervisors at key locations.
Yellow Cab said it, too, has enhanced training. It is keeping in close contact with convention planners and airport and tourism officials to learn more about possible concerns and logistical issues.
The company - which has 528 taxis, although it can put only 300 on the street at any one time - said it expects a lot of traffic between the airport and downtown in the days leading up to the convention and on the Friday after the event.
Between that time, though, taxi traffic to and from DIA likely will dry up, as most visitors that week will arrive in Denver and leave around the same times, said Ross Alexander, regional general manager of Colorado Cab Co., which operates Yellow Cab and the SuperShuttle airport service.
That will free up more cab drivers to accommodate short trips in the city, which will benefit convention visitors and residents, he said.
SuperShuttle also will take some of the strain off the taxi industry. The service has 100 10-seat vans in its fleet now and can pull more from Boulder if needed.
walshc@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2744
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Suggest removal
get_a_grip writes:
I heard that Re-Create 68 has been working with the Cab Drives to drop delegates off in the wrong locations. A good friend of mine is a cab driver and has told me he has accepted money from them already to do just that. He also told me they told him they are reaching out to sex workers also to mess up delegates visits. This group will stop at nothing. Time to round them up.