Airport passengers are arriving late, but it was nothing to do with the airlines. The line for taxis is long and there are not enough to service all of the passengers, according to the North Peace Airport Services.

The organization is calling on the B.C. Passenger Transport Board to look at the applications for new taxi service and shuttle bus companies more serious to address to severe challenges in getting to and from the airport.

In a recent letter to the board, Moira Green, the North Peace Airport Managing Director, said that transportation to and from the airport is a key issue.

“The airport is a key point of entry for people, goods and services that support a robust economy composed of oil and gas, hydro electric, forestry and agriculture,” said Green. “There just aren’t enough taxis to get people where they need to go.”

Every day, approximately 360 passengers pass through the North Peace Airport and struggle to get to and from the airport with no public transportation options currently available other than taxi cabs.

Just last week, Green noted that one gentleman complained that it took him 56 minutes to get from the Pomeroy Hotel to the Airport, time that he didn’t have to wait because he was in town only for a quick meeting.

The problem is compounded in the evening when they are looking at the last flights of the day. On Jan. 30, the last Air Canada Jazz flight arrived at 9:07 p.m. but the terminal was unable to be closed until nearly 10:00 p.m. due to the fact that people had to wait for cabs. The need to extend terminal hours to accommodate these people comes at a direct cost to the airport and adds to the frustration of passengers.

“[These] are not isolated incidents,” said Green. “The two or three taxis come and maybe four or six people get in, and they leave. But [everyone else] has to wait until those cabs go to town, drop people off and come back. And how many taxis are really on the road at any given time?”

Hotels in the region are facing similar issues as they try to accommodate their guests. The Super 8 Motel in Fort St. John has ended up getting their own shuttle to run on evenings and weekends due to the lack of taxi service available.

“[Getting a cab] would take 45 minutes to an hour and sometimes my staff would have to take their private car to get the people up to the airport in time,” said Ken Myers, General Manager at the Super 8 Motel.

Myers notes that despite the fact that Teco Taxi and Fort St. John Cabs hold a monopoly in town with over 20 licenses, it’s rare to see more than a few cabs on the road at a time with them.

“Competition has to come in,” said Myers. “Three cabs in a town this size just doesn’t work.”

Myers said the hotel, frequented by workers in the natural resource industry and tourists visiting the area, is now utilizing the other two cab services in town including Bernard Thompson’s Taxi Service and Energetic Cabs and having better luck.

One of the biggest benefits to the new service in town is the flat rate that Thompson offers to the airport, something that both Green and Myers said has been a struggle with other companies.

“I don’t understand why there can’t be a standard price from a hotel to the airport,” said Myers. “When they leave here and go direct, one guy is charging $21 and the same guy two hours later will charge us $28. They say they can’t make a standard run, but Bernard does.”

The high cost associated with some of the cab companies is another challenge with getting to and from the airport.

“It’s 8KM and the going rate seems to be about $30,” said Green. “You can get from the Vancouver airport to Granville Island for $30.”

However, Green pointed out that the new cab services in town face other difficulties such as restrictions on their license. For example, Bernard Thompson’s license only allows him to pick up passengers that originate within the city limits of Fort St. John.

“He can pick you up in town and take you to the airport, but because his license is restricted to inside the municipal boundaries, he has to drive by the person waiting for a cab. He can’t pick up at the airport.”

The Passenger Transportation Board said that this restriction was what he applied for, and that he is welcome to apply for an amendment to his license should he want to.

“When we get an applicaton, people apply for what they want to do. When we get their application, we send them an summary of what they want to do, which they then sign off on,” said Jan Broocke, Director and Secretary to the Board for the Passenger Transportation Board.

The application summary that was signed off on for Bernard’s Taxi Service states that ‘transportation passengers may only originate from points within Fort St. John.’

Other than the hope for more competition to come in to the area for taxi service, North Peace Airport Services also said that there is a shuttle application before the transportation board that would be of great interest.

“An air porter style shuttle that serves hotels and major employers and functions as a staff shuttle would be a tremendous asset to the community,” said Green.

Hitting on one of her other major points in that statement, Green expanded on the staffing issue at the airport.

Including the four helicopter companies, the charter airline, the fuelling company, air traffic controllers and airport staff for the various airlines, café and administrative functions, over 130 full-time employees work at the airport site on a daily basis.

“There are 130 people who have to drive out here everyday to come to work, and the way that things are set up now is you can’t work at the airport unless you have a car because you can’t get here,” said Green. ”So if you’re trying to hire someone to load bags or someone to work at your rental car company, you have to know right off the top that you have to pay them enough that they can afford rent and owning a car.”

She also noted that parking facilities are limited and will continue to be stretched as air traffic grows in the coming years to accommodate the region’s anticipated growth.

The idea of having public transportation come to the airport has been examined but presents many challenges as the airport does not fall within the municipal boundaries of Fort St. John that are served by B.C. transit.

“Public transit is a very complicated subject,” said Green. “For public transportation to come out here, there has to be a funding agreement between all the municipalities involved and the B.C. transportation people.”

At this point, the best options would be to encourage competition amongst taxi companies to ensure clean, prompt and professional service and to add the proposed shuttle bus service, according to North Peace Airport Services.

“These letters are the result of no less than three failed taxi applications,” said Green, adding that 27 licenses may be sufficient for a city of Fort St. John’s size, but more of those licenses need to be distributed to other companies so more cabs will be on the road at a time.

Their letter urges the board to consider the applications in front of them more seriously to improve transportation in Fort St. John and help prepare the city for the anticipated economic growth that is forecast over the next 7 to 10 years.