By Taylor MacPherson

Cab companies combine to form largest fleet in P.A.

Oct 6, 2016 | 2:00 PM

Family Taxi and P.A. Checker Taxi have merged, creating the largest cab fleet in the city.

Owner Pardeep Kumar is taking over the operations and 13-car fleet of Checker Taxi. Because Prince Albert regulates the number of available taxi licenses, the only means for cab companies to expand is to incorporate cars from other fleets. With Checker owner Russ Mccloy planning retirement, the decision to combine the companies made sense for both parties.

The newly-formed Checker & Family Taxi will operate 21 of the city’s 36 licensed taxis.

“I think the biggest part of this whole thing is to give better service,” Mccloy said. “When you have 21 units on the road, people don’t have a long waiting period, so your service standards go up.”

Kumar explained a larger fleet means more chances to innovate and improve the industry.

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“We are going to incorporate the latest technology,” he said. “We will set a new standard for the taxi industry to serve the people better.”

Kumar will now have access to the Checker Taxi app, which allows customers to arrange a pickup from their smartphones and track the car’s progress in real time. Thanks to GPS tracking, customers will not even need to know the address they are calling from. The app, as well as both previous phone numbers, will now apply to all 21 cabs under the Checker & Family banner.

“The app is a wonderful thing,” Mccloy said. “People can go on a map and see exactly where the taxi is and how soon it’ll be there. I think that’s going to be the biggest innovation.

In addition to the app, every cab in the new fleet will accept credit and debit payments.

“With the combined company every vehicle will have it,” Mccloy said. “They don’t even have to ask.”

Mccloy plans to stay on with the new company for about two years before moving into retirement, in order to pass on as much of his experience as possible to Kumar and his staff.

“I’ve seen an awful lot of people come and go in the taxi industry,” Mccloy said. “I’m proud to say that this transition, with Pardeep and the people he’s got working with him, they’re very up to date and very interested in customer service.”

Prince Albert residents can expect to see cars bearing the Checker & Family banner on the streets as early as this week.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca