Taxi Cabs

[SkyWestOKC]

Anyone notice lately the greater presence of taxi cabs in OKC?

I know Thunder Cab is a new cab company in OKC. I've just been noticing a lot more cabs throughout the city lately.

I guess this a sign that OKC is starting to pull more out of state visitors in.

[blangtang]

took a cab to bricktown last weekend. cabbie had just moved from chicago to OKC the previous month to drive cabs. said he was leaving in two weeks to go back because he wasn't making any money, too many cabs out there chasing fares!

[Larry OKC]

That can't possibly be true. A while back, it was mentioned in at least 2 Council meetings that OKC only has 1 cab company (they were deciding to put a cab company from Norman on probation when they refused to send a cab to OKC). But a quick check of the phonebook showed at least 14....

[metro]

No there was an article awhile back (think it was Journal Record) that there are 3 cab companies in town, but they were fighting about being able to all use the classic yellow/black color scheme. City said it was okay as people expect it to be a taxi and that people don't shop taxi's based on color of the company's color scheme.

[HOT ROD]

interesting about the Chicago cabbie. Too bad he can't hold out but I agree that OKC probably isn't going to offer the fares he would get in Chicago. Even if the pond in OKC is smaller, but I suppose it does serve the market - making margins thin. ..

[dmoor82]

Differences in Chicago(or any BIG city) is you walk to things that are close or you hale a Cab if it's far away!In OKC you call a cab if you dont have a car or if your from out of town!Of course we all know that OKC is a sprawlfest and unless you live in a dense urban core then you really need a car but even living in urban areas in OKC doesnt always mean ammenities you seek will be within walking distance!Cities like Chicago,NY,Boston,Philly or any other densely populated cities with REAL transit options have no need for an automobile thats why you see more cabbies in these cities sometimes than regular cars!My Aunt before She died moved here from Boston and had a ROUGH time making money in OKC but She said The cost of living vs Boston made it about the same and The traffic and street grid was very easy to traverse and only took a week to get down!I know OKC is NOT those cities I posted above but I would like to see areas in OKC that you could comfortably live and work and have NO need for a car!Deep Deuce and dt maybe?

[BBatesokc]

I was eating outside at Subway in downtown the other day when a couple of cabbies came over for lunch. They said hi and asked to sit down. We chatted it up a bit. All three were foreign born and all three said they weren't making hardly any money. One was bold enough to show his SNAP card to prove his point. One came from New York hoping to find more affordable housing and college for his daughter. They said they mostly worked the downtown hotels but the problem was that their fares never wanted to be taken very far. They said the biggest issue with OKC was most everyone has a car, a car can be rented for an entire weekend for only $60 and the city is so spread out they often drive much further getting to a fare than the actual distance the fare is going to have them transport them once they arrive. They said they get a lot of one way fares from people leaving the hotels and not realizing how close their destination is and they choose to walk back.

[metro]

Deep Deuce is downtown. How about continue to build a dense urban core that includes and starts with downtown just like every other city in America.

[dmoor82]

^^Really Metro!I thought it was near Valley Brook!LMFAO! Bricktown,Deep Deuce are both in Downtown but arent in The CBD!So in that regard we are both right!