UPDATE:

The City of Swift Current has confirmed that the bylaw has been put into effect, increasing the taxi rate as of December 1, 2023.

ORIGINAL STORY:

The Taxi Bylaw was introduced at the recent Swift Current city council meeting and was motioned to have two readings in upcoming meetings. 

Swift Current’s taxi rates are becoming more likely to increase soon, as taxi company owners have brought forward a proposal which has been formally introduced recently. The change is due to taxi rates remaining the same, while inflation increases the expenses which cab owners and operators can’t avoid. 

City Councillor Pat Friesen discussed the bylaw in the meeting.

"The Current Taxi Bylaw was last amended in 2014, since then there have not been rate increases to the taxi fares, although there have been continued increases to expenses incurred by our local taxi companies," explained Friesen. "This bylaw amendment will increase the current distance rates $0.05 per hundred metres or portion thereof... The first rate increase will be effective December 1, 2023, and the second $0.05 increase as of January 2, 2025. The intention following this bylaw would be to review the taxi bylaw in its entirety in 2026."

The first mention of this being a possibility was in a governance meeting in October, when Tim Bergara, owner and operator of Phantom Cabs (previously City-Wide Cabs), gave a presentation on the purpose of the recommendation. Before this, Phantom Cabs was one of the three taxi companies in Swift Current that met with the bylaw department.