Taxi! It only takes a few moments to summon a Yellow Cab, and long before that cab escorts you to your desti-nation, the car and the driver have been primed to give

you the safest and most courteous service. This has been their mandate for 70 years.

In 1945, Walter Miller and Joe Ferraro purchased McNeil’s Taxi from John McNeil. The men rebranded the company to Yellow Cab and operated 16 units from a Quonset hut in front of the Fairmont MacDonald Hotel. In 1958 Val Taylor joined the company and operated it with Ferraro until 1974, when it was acquired by Grey Goose Bus Lines and Laidlaw. In 1999, Laidlaw purchased Barrel Taxi and Checker Cab, of which Phil Strong was a co-owner. In 2006, Strong spearheaded the pur-chase of the entire operation. “That’s when we consolidated to Greater Edmonton Taxi Service (GETS),” says CEO Strong.

Today, comprised of Yellow Cab, Barrel Taxi, Checker and Prestige Cabs, GETS provides 24-hour service. Strong, who drove taxi while attending university, was always an entrepreneur with a sense of what would make a good investment; and under his leadership, the brand is flourishing on and off the streets.

“Now, we are a lot more than taxis,” smiles Strong. For ex-ample, their hot shot/delivery service brings documents, pack-ages and parts to where they need to go without the wait time seen by regular courier services. “We do quite a lot of parcel delivery,” he informs. “Lots are out of town. If a service rig needs a part, we’ll take it out to them. For products that are needed quickly, we can deliver faster than a courier company and we don’t charge a hot shot fee.” CEO Phil Strong

Yellow Cab Drives Through 70 Years of Great Service

By Nerissa McNaughton

Yellow Cab • 70 Years 75

Yellow Cab also works closely with Edmonton’s Transit System (ETS) and Disabled Adult Transit Service (DATS). Strong ex-plains, “We are trying to focus on seniors because of the demo-graphics of our city. The Baby Boomers are getting to that age. We are educating seniors on the benefits of public transit and taxis. We work closely with ETS and DATS in this regard.”

In addition to cabs, GETS provides shuttles, limousines and black cars.

In late 2014, rival company Uber announced plans to operate in Edmonton and many residents were split on whether or not this was a good idea. “Uber is not a transportation provider,” says the fine print on their website, and it’s true. They are not – and this greatly concerns Strong. He is not concerned about competition as seventy years of service speaks for itself. He is, however, greatly troubled for the Uber drivers and the passengers they pick up.

“Uber is definitely not as safe from a liability point of view,” he points out. “Customers are exposed to a lot more risks; there is no doubt about it. Uber does not have commercial insurance, and regular insurance will be declined if anything happens. This has been proven in different places where there have been accidents. Insurance is our highest cost of operating. The re-cordkeeping when accidents occur is very substantial and Uber wants no part of that. You need to have big reserves of funds to pay for accidents, but for Uber, it’s not in the model.”

Edmontonians say our rapidly growing city needs more taxis, and Strong, who is currently the chairman of the City’s Industry Advisory Group, agrees. “There is no doubt that we need more taxis. We have voiced that to the City but the City has been a little slow to react. There is a process and it is a little cumber-some at this point.”

Strong continues to work with the City to get more cabs on the roads, and while the process is slow, he has not been hesitant in giving Edmonton the service it wants. “I think Uber has done a couple things to the industry,” he says. “It disturbed us, obvi-ously, but on the positive side it has made us react and improve our technology and service parameters. Right now the Yellow Cab app is just as good as Uber’s. You get all the same features with the exception of knowing the identity of the driver. Our next app upgrade for the winter will have that. You can know the cost of the trip and watch your car coming for you. Addi-tionally, our taxis offer different ways to pay, such as cash and debit. Uber does not offer this convenience.”

Both Yellow Cab and Barrel Taxi have apps that you can download from Google Play or the App Store. You can also book a taxi online at edmtaxi.com or simply give them a call. The in-house dispatch department responds promptly.

The app is not the only way GETS has been progressive. They were one of the first to use a digital dispatch system in Canada and their cars had GPS in 1995 – just six months after GPS was introduced for vehicle use. Several cabs in the fleet are hybrids and the company is always looking for ways to improve service through technology.

Much has changed since the first Yellow Cabs were seen in Ed-monton, but the constant factor is the never-ending commitment to safety. “Passenger and driver safety are important,” confirms Strong. “We have an in-house defensive driving course and we don’t allow people to take it elsewhere as it is geared towards the industry here in Edmonton. We constantly review our driver’s habits, monitor them, and let them go if they are underperform-

GETS and public vehicles are repaired on site

Inside the paint room at GETS

John Palmowski mixes paint for GETS vehicles

Phil Strong with one of GETS hybrid vehicles

Yellow Cab • 70 Years • Page 3Page 2 •Yellow Cab • 70 Years

Yellow Cab also works closely with Edmonton’s Transit System (ETS) and Disabled Adult Transit Service (DATS). Strong ex-plains, “We are trying to focus on seniors because of the demo-graphics of our city. The Baby Boomers are getting to that age. We are educating seniors on the benefits of public transit and taxis. We work closely with ETS and DATS in this regard.”

In addition to cabs, GETS provides shuttles, limousines and black cars.

In late 2014, rival company Uber announced plans to operate in Edmonton and many residents were split on whether or not this was a good idea. “Uber is not a transportation provider,” says the fine print on their website, and it’s true. They are not – and this greatly concerns Strong. He is not concerned about competition as seventy years of service speaks for itself. He is, however, greatly troubled for the Uber drivers and the passengers they pick up.

“Uber is definitely not as safe from a liability point of view,” he points out. “Customers are exposed to a lot more risks; there is no doubt about it. Uber does not have commercial insurance, and regular insurance will be declined if anything happens. This has been proven in different places where there have been accidents. Insurance is our highest cost of operating. The re-cordkeeping when accidents occur is very substantial and Uber wants no part of that. You need to have big reserves of funds to pay for accidents, but for Uber, it’s not in the model.”

Edmontonians say our rapidly growing city needs more taxis, and Strong, who is currently the chairman of the City’s Industry Advisory Group, agrees. “There is no doubt that we need more taxis. We have voiced that to the City but the City has been a little slow to react. There is a process and it is a little cumber-some at this point.”

Strong continues to work with the City to get more cabs on the roads, and while the process is slow, he has not been hesitant in giving Edmonton the service it wants. “I think Uber has done a couple things to the industry,” he says. “It disturbed us, obvi-ously, but on the positive side it has made us react and improve our technology and service parameters. Right now the Yellow Cab app is just as good as Uber’s. You get all the same features with the exception of knowing the identity of the driver. Our next app upgrade for the winter will have that. You can know the cost of the trip and watch your car coming for you. Addi-tionally, our taxis offer different ways to pay, such as cash and debit. Uber does not offer this convenience.”

Both Yellow Cab and Barrel Taxi have apps that you can download from Google Play or the App Store. You can also book a taxi online at edmtaxi.com or simply give them a call. The in-house dispatch department responds promptly.

The app is not the only way GETS has been progressive. They were one of the first to use a digital dispatch system in Canada and their cars had GPS in 1995 – just six months after GPS was introduced for vehicle use. Several cabs in the fleet are hybrids and the company is always looking for ways to improve service through technology.

Much has changed since the first Yellow Cabs were seen in Ed-monton, but the constant factor is the never-ending commitment to safety. “Passenger and driver safety are important,” confirms Strong. “We have an in-house defensive driving course and we don’t allow people to take it elsewhere as it is geared towards the industry here in Edmonton. We constantly review our driver’s habits, monitor them, and let them go if they are underperform-

GETS and public vehicles are repaired on site

Inside the paint room at GETS

John Palmowski mixes paint for GETS vehicles

Phil Strong with one of GETS hybrid vehicles

Yellow Cab • 70 Years • Page 3Page 2 •Yellow Cab • 70 Years

ing. We probably do more of that than any other fleet in town. This fact is proven in our reduced accident claims. We have a comprehensive checklist of things we monitor on drivers.”

He continues, “We have the shields mandated by the City and we instruct our drivers on how to handle the more trou-blesome clients.”

The service doesn’t stop when the cabs are off the road. GETS has their own body shop and garage on site that is open to the public. The company also has their own paint bay and mixing facility where the iconic colour specific to Yellow Cab is created.

Yellow Cab has always focused on safety, great service, cus-tomer comfort and affordable rates. With cabs suited for every need from a trip to a club to a business engagement downtown, a shuttle to the airport or an accessible van for seniors or dis-ability transportation, this company keeps Edmonton moving. Strong looks forward to continuing to implement technologies that benefit both drivers and riders, and is equally excited about the plans to expand into Edmonton’s bedroom communities.

Strong thanks all the loyal customers that have used Yellow Cab over the years. It is the company’s pleasure to safely trans-port Edmonton’s residents and visitors. Strong also says a very big thank you to the hardworking drivers that strive to make every call a positive experience.

Seventy years is a long time but for Yellow Cab, it’s just the beginning of the ride.

Greater Edmonton Taxi Service Inc.General Enquiries: (780) 465-8500

10135 – 31 Ave, Edmonton, AB T6N 1C2edmtaxi.com

WAREHOUSE SERVICES INC.AUTOMOTIVE / LIGHT INDUSTRIAL - PARTS & SUPPLIES

Brand Name Parts – Outstanding Service

WSI would like to congratulate Yellow Cab for 70 years of service to their many valued clients.

Edmonton South 780-437-4917 Sherwood Park 780-464-5800Edmonton North 780-474-8585 Leduc 780-986-3530Calgary North 403-273-7370 Lloydminister 780-808-2155Calgary South 403-243-6060 www.wsionline.ca

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Congratulations to Yellow Cabon celebrating 70 years!

We value our 28-year relationship andlook forward to many more!

Congratulations to Yellow Cab on 70 great years of service

and commitment to our community!

780.438.0808 • Toll Free: 1.800.569.4856www.carlsonbodyshopsupply.com

In addition to cabs, GETS provides shuttles, limousines

and black cars.

Yellow Cab • 70 Years • Page 3

Congratulations Yellow Cabon 70 great years!

We wish you many years of continued success!

10303-Jasper Ave, Suite 1590 • 780.445.9900

edmtaxi.com

24 hour towing and hauling since 1953.

CongratulationsYellow Cab on 70 years!

FROM WESTERN CANADA’S TOWING AND RECOVERY SPECIALISTS

780.462.3456

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