If an application with the Passenger Transportation Board of B.C. goes well, Penticton could have 10 new taxis, including eight hybrid vehicles.
Two taxis will be handicap-friendly and the other eight will be conventional taxis, albeit with low-emission, hybrid vehicles, according to applicant Robert Emms. He appeared before city council to ask for a letter of support.
“We’ve got 150 to 200 letters of support from businesses in the city as well as just residents,” he said.
Another business asked for a letter of support from the city in February, but according to Emms those business owners still haven’t put an application in with the PTB.
Currently, 29 vehicles operate either within Penticton or in Penticton plus a 16-kilometre radius surrounding the city and another 11 that serve the remainder of the South Okanagan-Similkameen area, according to the PTB’s most recent list from April 30.
Emms said there have been openings for more licences to be doled out in the area.
Current Taxi asked council to support its bid for two taxis, both Teslas, to be added to Penticton’s stock.
That company unveiled two new taxis in Kelowna that same month, but none have yet materialized in Penticton.