There is no charge: the taxi business sees the end of the road

Craig Cobet only operates the remaining taxis in Portland. Ben McCBen McCanna / Staff Photographeranna / Staff Photographer

Three years ago, hundreds of taxi drivers roamed the streets of Greater Portland, with air, bus and train passengers, nightclubs, hospital patients, business people, and any other person in need of a ride.

The epidemic, along with uncontrolled travel sharing services and rising costs, has disrupted the region’s taxi business.

Today, only 55 drivers and 50 taxis are registered in Portland. Only one taxi company is left with dozens of independent taxis. A.D. By 2019, the city had more than 100 taxis and double drivers.

The dramatic collapse of the Portland taxi industry has left only one ship – 207 taxis. It is now trying to meet the attacks on passengers for medical appointments, hospital visits and social services by using cash customers’ needs and subsidized transportation.

In 2018, Portland had three cab companies; Only 207 taxis survived the epidemic.

We are the only ones going. We took all the transportation in the city well, ”said Craig Kobet, a 207 taxi driver. “We are trying to serve 70,000 people and all accounts. We worked about 60,000 miles a year. We are now traveling 60,000 miles every six months.

Kobet and his nine taxis use dozens of accounts that use transportation vouchers to book and deliver to customers. Accounting now covers most of Kobet’s business. Drivers spend 60 percent of their time on vouchers. It was the opposite a few years ago – drivers spend 80 percent of their time catching up on passengers who pay in cash.

Only a handful of cars and drivers can wait 35 to 40 minutes for passengers to drive.

“We are busy. People get angry because no one wants to wait and they need a ride. ” Said Cobet. “I have 60 labels that we can use with specific cars, and we will do our best.”

Even a competitor in the Portland market is welcome, says Kobet, but the start-up costs are high. Expensive cars are in short supply, it is difficult to find drivers. Costumes such as 207 taxis lease vehicles to drivers for a 12-hour shift, with drivers earning money in cash and vouchers.

Oil prices, which are hovering around $ 5 a gallon, have a significant impact on drivers’ incomes, with the city’s tariff structure – $ 3 to start and $ 1.90 miles – unchanged since 2010.

Although 207 taxis are the only company left in the area, most of the taxis in Portland are owned and operated by many of the new miners.

Ahmed Aden was waiting for a Toyota Prize tariff outside Portland Transport Center last week, with his business name, driver and passenger doors in red.

The taxi business is tough, says hunting. Ride sharing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, carry a large number of passengers. The closure of the epidemic affected the tourism market, and he and other taxis collected passengers on ships and bus tours.

Even payment is not guaranteed. The recent trip from Portland to Windham ended with the passengers saying they could not afford the trip, Eden said. “I brought it to Wyndham, and he had no money. What should I do? ”

Aden said many taxi drivers have left the business in the face of those challenges. He has been on the roller coaster for six years now and hopes to improve. “You have to keep pushing,” he said.

Bobaker Mohammed owns a taxi here at the Portland Transport Center. Ben McCanna / Staff Photographer

Babaker Mohammed has been driving a taxi in Portland since 2007. Even before the outbreak, motorists began biting passengers.

Under state law, local governments cannot control private car companies except Maine’s major airports in Portland and Bangor.

It costs $ 360 to register a new taxi in Portland and costs $ 145 for a new taxi driver. Annual renovations cost a little less. Unlike interest-based Uber and elevator tariffs, tariffs are controlled by the city.

“There is no business. Uber, Lyft, took control of our business, Mohammed said. These days, you can wait three to four hours for a tariff. “That’s why people left this job,” he said.

There is no reason why drivers should choose the Ride Share app in traditional taxi driving. Some long-time taxi drivers feel more comfortable with the traditional tariff box and the one-mile tariff set than the traditional tariff and price fluctuations, high fees and technology with shared applications.

Drivers of companies such as 207 taxis can use their private cars to avoid the cost of repairs, insurance and other expenses.

When the lock arrived, Muhammad took the taxi off the road for three months. Since then, he has been in the full-time job, and he now drives for a few hours on weekends.

On Friday morning, Babikir was waiting for the arrival of buses and trains at the Portland Transport Center in a tan minivan. One tariff had already gone to Portland and the other by car to Louisston. After another tariff, he decided to call one day.

“I’ll wait until 11 o’clock, then the bus will come, the train will come, I will meet someone,” he said.

The epidemic has severely affected the taxi industry nationwide. The companies lost drivers and vehicles during long-term business closures, travel restrictions and a general downturn in American life.

The typical taxi company has a 40 percent contract, said the head of the Transport Alliance, a business group representing taxis and other land transport companies. Companies lost drivers and cars were sold by lot.

“Most people were beaten because they stopped moving.

The industry has grown, but it has faced challenges known to all businesses – shortage of workers, supply chain headaches and high inflation.

Uber, Lyft and other companies have been bitten since they went into operation a decade ago, but the impact has since faded, Lagase said. In New York City, Ride Sharing Companies has partnered with taxi companies, so Lagase said there is a good chance that someone will take a yellow taxi when they digitally. He added that the model is being copied in other cities.

“In fact, it was probably a little weird,” he said. “Riding sharing companies are rebuilding just like us.”

Taxis across the country have also been converted into transportation vouchers. Medicaid-sponsored and private employment appointments No. 1 for medical appointments, cleaning and other services were and still are, ”Lagase said.

Returning to the 207 taxi, Kobet was willing to look at the business, whether it was thick or thin. He said taxis play an important role in transport. Good luck to those who are trying to ride a snowstorm, on a holiday or on a strange day and night to get to work, home or an important place.

His company, for its part, is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and expects Kobet to continue this way.

“We are not going anywhere,” he said.

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