Hey Taxi!
North Lake Tahoe Taxi Boom
by Melissa Siig
There was a time a few years ago when catching a cab in Tahoe City or Truckee was about as easy as finding an affordable lakefront mansion. The few taxi companies that serviced the region were often spread thin, leaving bar patrons stranded at 2:00 a.m. or travelers without a ride to the airport. But in the last year, the area has seen a sudden explosion in the number of cab companies. While this means good news for customers, some drivers question whether the area can support an abundance of cars for hire.
Less than a decade ago, the transportation landscape in the region was sparse. Fast Taxi and North Tahoe Checker picked up fares on the North Shore and in Squaw Valley, while Alpine Taxi served Crystal Bay and Incline Village. Truckee didn't even have its own cab company until about fi ve years ago, when Ace High Taxi got started. A few years later, things began to change. High Sierra Taxi and Mountain Cab opened in Truckee in 2004, followed by three new companies in 2006: Blueline Transportation and Independent Taxi on the North Shore, and Anytime Taxi in Truckee.
What accounts for this rapid growth in the North Lake Tahoe taxi business? For one, there was a huge demand that was itching to be filled. "I was a bartender for the past eight years, and I'm one of the first people who could tell you the impossibility of finding a cab for customers on any given Friday or Saturday night," said Matt Guilbert, co-owner of Anytime Taxi.
This shortage was especially apparent in Truckee, where Tal Fletcher started Mountain Cab for exactly that reason. "Truckee did not have a reliable taxi service," he says. "The two companies on The Lake were not taking care of Truckee."
Seeing a niche that was yet unfilled, Chuck Buckley started Independent Taxi to serve North Tahoe's upscale clientele that didn't want to ride in beat-up cars. His new Toyota Sienna and Chevy Tahoe are equipped with DVD players, satellite radio and cargo boxes, and the drivers wear collared shirts, some even donning suits and ties. "We leave the bar scene to North Tahoe Checker," says Buckley, noting that Independent is the official taxi of the Resort at Squaw Creek and PlumpJack. "We give four-star service."
Like Buckley, who worked for Tahoe Truckee Taxi, Fast Taxi and North Tahoe Checker for over ten years before founding Independent, the owners of both Blueline and Anytime Taxi used to drive for other companies. Mountain Cab's Fletcher attributes the surge in taxi companies to drivers who think they can do better on their own. "They see all the money coming into the cab, and they are only putting a fraction in their pocket," he says. A driver makes about $200 on a busy weekend night, and as much as $1,000 on New Year's Eve.
Ross Scott, owner of Fast Taxi, agrees with Fletcher. He believes drivers think that starting their own company is a way to make easy money. "They think you just need a car, license, top hat, insurance and to register as a company, and, all of a sudden, you're a taxi company," he says. Some cabbies, however, doubt that the region can sustain ten taxi companies. "I see it hard for anyone to actually grow," says Scott, whose business is down about 30 percent from last year, which he admits may have to do with the slow winter. "Everyone is pretty stagnant."
There are times of the year, however, when the area needs as many cabs as it can get. With an influx of visitors in the summer and winter, taxis are in high demand. Scott reports that out-oftowners make up as much as 75 percent of his customers during the peak seasons. In the off-season, taxi companies have to depend on locals for much of their business. "Some days you need 100 taxis, and some days you need one," he says. "Seven months of the year, we need a lot of taxis. The rest of the time, we're talking slow periods."
Companies that rely mainly on airport customers are better able to weather the industry's seasonal nature. Both Mountain Cab and Independent Taxi have become more of a reservationbased private car service, with airport runs to and from Reno making up 90 percent of their business. According to Fletcher—who's in the process of morphing his company's name to Truckee Tahoe Transportation to reflect its more-encompassing service—his company does an average of 10 to 12 airport trips a day, with rides costing between $100 and $120. While he says he is busier in the winter, when more visitors fl y than drive to Tahoe, his overall business is growing. For taxi companies that stay in the Tahoe area, most of their passengers are headed to casinos, hotels, restaurants and bars in Tahoe City and Truckee. Those fares range from $5 to $30. On occasion, drivers take customers to San Francisco, which costs around $600.
The proliferation of taxi companies has not been without its share of stiff competition for passengers and territory. Fletcher reports that he's had his business cards thrown away at bars and Mountain Cab stickers scratched off of payphones. Nevertheless, most cabbies enjoy what they do. "I never thought that owning a cab company would bring me so much satisfaction," says Blueline owner Jeremy Jones. "I discovered I truly love driving a taxi on the North Shore."
OTHER NORTH LAKE TAHOE TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES:
Tahoe Trolley Summer-only shuttle between Squaw Valley and Incline Village, $1.50 one-way. A free shuttle runs 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every 30 minutes between Tahoe Vista and Crystal Bay. 1-800-736-6365 or www.laketahoetransit.com
North Lake Tahoe Express Airport Shuttle Charges $35 one-way and $60 roundtrip to lodging properties along three different routes. Makes multiple stops. 1-866- 216-5222 or www.northlaketahoeexpress.com
Squaw Creek Transportation Private charters around The Lake and an airport shuttle, $71 one-way, to and from the resort. 1-866-909-RIDE or www.squawcreek.com