Osoyoos Taxi received permission from B.C.’s Passenger Transportation Board in September to operate two cabs in Oliver. Photo by Paul Everest - Click on picture for larger image
OSOYOOS TIMES-December 1, 2010
By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times
Osoyoos Taxi has expanded its reach to service Oliver and operate limousines in the South Okanagan.
After Oliver’s town council took away Oliver Taxi’s business licence in September after allegations that the company’s operator was drinking on the job and often not responding to calls for cab service, Osoyoos Taxi applied to B.C.’s Passenger Transportation Board for an amendment to its operating licence in order to service the community of roughly 4,500 people north of Osoyoos.
The application was backed by the Town of Oliver and the company also provided 44 letters of support to the board from organizations including the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce and local wine companies as well as several doctors and 30 Oliver residents.
The board approved Osoyoos Taxi’s licence amendment application on Oct. 5 based on a “claim of urgent public need” and the company is now running two cabs in Oliver.
Subag Singh, owner of Osoyoos Taxi, said his company began operating in Oliver in October and its current licence to do so is good until June.
He added that he hopes to provide permanent taxi service in Oliver once the nine-month authorization from the board to operate in Oliver expires.
Along with the pair of taxis in Oliver, the company has a fleet of three cabs in Osoyoos which operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Singh, who took over Osoyoos Taxi in June of 2006 from Wilf and Heide Wright, said he has hired some new drivers to run the Oliver cabs.
Osoyoos Taxi has also finalized an agreement to buy the South Okanagan Limousine Company based out of Oliver, Singh said.
The limousine company is owned by Oliver’s William Edye and Leslie Muirhead.
Singh said the company, which he has already begun to manage, has two limousines and a van and will continue to provide service for weddings, wine tours, corporate functions and graduation ceremonies in Osoyoos, Oliver and Okanagan Falls.
The company is now taking bookings for Christmas, he said.
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