So I was in downtown Columbus for a few days last week. While I had been to Columbus on many occassions it mainly involved the university area on football Saturdays. Anyway, one thing that I found rather interesting about Columbus during my 3 days there was the lack of taxicabs in the city. Every big city I have been to (except maybe Detroit) the one thing that is great about staying in the city is the wonders of public transportation whether it be bus, subway, train, or in many cases taxi. No matter what city, I have never had trouble downtown hailing a cab, but for some reason during my 3 day visit to Columbus I rarely saw any. It was not like I was out in the suburbs too because I stayed at the Hyatt on the Statehouse square right in the heart of downtown.  I know it is not an Ohio thing because of the relative ease I have had hailing cabs in Cincinnati and Cleveland. I dont know, but it seems like to have a truly successful urban core, this is one element that Columbus lacks. Regardless, I just find it puzzling that a city the size of Columbus would have such a dearth of taxis around the city center when it is a signature of every other major city in the US.

(No offense) ARE YOU INSANE?!?!?!

 

If one thing downtown Columbus actually does have (and it ain't people) is taxicabs.  Namely those damn Acme red/yellow cabs run by Somalis.  Those things extend into Clintonville, Short North, and esp. (ESP.) downtown/Arena District.  I don't know if it was an "off" night for you (and trust me, I'm not attacking you or your experience) but generally, that is one thing I notice Columbus does have is a bizillion Acme or Shamrock taxis (again, mostly Somali drivers; wonderful people).

I will have to take your word for it. Again I spent most of my time around the statehouse area and I was only there from Monday-Thursday so it was not the prime part of the week. I just found it interesting how hard it was to hail a cab around some of the main downtown hotels. I agree, with you though, that in the arena district is is was not nearly as bad but overall, I did not see too many from my experience. I think the time of week had a lot to do with it.

i have the number of a taxicab driver in columbus who has a cooler of beer in his trunk for his customers

Ya there's too many cabs in northern downtown, club/nightlife areas, up to the short north and university district, but outside of that at night Taxi's are more scarce.  Especially in the central business area, like Capital Square. 

Actually I think that Hyatt is probably the easiet place to catch a cab in the entire city.  They usually just line up on state street right around the corner.  If you talk to the doorman at the hotel, he can usually get you one in less than 2 minutes (I actually used to valet park at that hotel, back in the day).

 

I would have to disagree about the ease of catching a cab in columbus though.  I have been out late (after midnight), in the short north/arena district and had to call cabs and wait for over 20 minutes for a cab to show up.  I haven't spent much time in other Ohio cities, but the little time I have spent, I don't remember it being easy to get a cab.  I am comparing to some where like Chicago, where 99% of the time you can wait by the side of the street and hail a cab in under a minute.  That's what I would say is good cab service. 

whatever happened to the columbus mantra,"dial fours when you're on all fours?" he!

Often you can hail a cab in C-bus, but there are time that it is scarce.

The trick in Columubus is to ask the bartender/host to call you a cab.  Usually they will have one for you within a few minutes.

Yea, I guess that is the case, next time I will know, I have just spent a ton of time in Cleveland and Cincys Central business districts and there were cabs driving around all the time there.

To be honest, I always thought Columubus had better cab service than Cleveland. 

But I really never got off High street in C-bus....

From the 7/7/06 Dispatch:

 

MAP: Downtown taxi stands

 

PHOTO: Taxis wait for fares at N. High Street and Nationwide Boulevard.  KYLE ROBERTSON DISPATCH

 

GRAPHIC: Current taxi rates, proposed increase

 

Meter running on request to raise taxi fares

City Council to decide Monday on first rate increase in 6 years

Friday, July 07, 2006

Jodi Andes

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Think gas prices have you squeezed?  Columbus cabdrivers say feel their pain.  They have to get approval from the Columbus City Council every time they want a raise.  And the last time that happened was more than six years ago.  The council in February 2000 approved a dime increase for every two-ninths of a mile that the passenger travels, at a time when gas was around $1.40 a gallon.

 

Given that gas is now closer to $3 a gallon and the cost of living is undoubtedly higher, cabdrivers and company officials are trying to increase the cost of a cab ride in Columbus.  They made their plea to the City Council yesterday.  The cabbies are asking that the basic fee for a cab ride start at $2.75, which would be 75 cents more than the current $2 rate.  They also want fares to go up from that by 45 cents, instead of 40 cents, for every two-ninths of a mile driven.

 

Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/07/07/20060707-E1-04.html

 

2/9ths of a mile? What a scam. There is no way that the average person knows how many 2/9ths of a mile they have actually traveled.

Taxis are vital piece of transit puzzle

BY ANN FISHER | [email protected]

March 30, 2007

 

COLUMBUS - Taxi drivers struggle to survive in Columbus, yet they belong here.  This is why: Last year, I watched a 20-something in stiletto heels careen from the front door of a nightclub to a nearby hot-dog stand.  Swaying like a sapling in a windstorm, she attracted the notice of a police officer stationed at the curb for closing time in the Arena District.  As the officer walked over to investigate, the sapling's posse arrived, full of spit and vinegar and clear-headed enough to grab the cab idling nearby.  In they piled.  Right behind that group, another band of happy saplings had begun to sprout and another cab was called into service.

 

A warm glow filled my motherly heart as I observed cab after cab hum up to that Vine Street curb, saving the rest of us from heaven only knows.  This all made so much sense.  Still, there is concern about how taxis fit into a new big city such as Columbus.  Dispatch reporter Bob Vitale wrote last week that two groups are reviewing the matrix, one at Mayor Michael B. Coleman's request and the other from the city's convention and visitors bureau.

 

Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/03/30/ann30_ART_03-30-07_E1_MV6814R.html

Can this car-crazy city be a taxi town, too?

Officials hope to boost residents' use of cabs

Monday,  March 26, 2007 3:36 AM

By Robert Vitale

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

More than 120,000 people work in Downtown Columbus.  None of them hailed a cab outside one of the city's biggest office buildings during Friday's lunch hour.  To the chagrin of city officials and civic boosters who've long envisioned a city of outstretched arms, we're just not a taxi-taking kind of town.

 

"We're in love with our cars," said Larry James, a Columbus lawyer who led a 2000 task force to breathe life into the local cab industry. "There has to be some compelling reason not to drive. You don't walk out and say, 'Let's just hail a cab.' "  Two new groups studying the cab system in Columbus hope once again to raise its profile, and not just for out-of-towners and people heading to the airport.

 

Full story at http://www.columbusdispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/03/26/taxis.ART_ART_03-26-07_A1_MR66H6T.html

Taxis as welcome wagons? Maybe

New rules would make city cab friendly, leaders say

BY DAVID CONRAD | COLUMBUS DISPATCH

July 24, 2007

 

COLUMBUS - When you step into Norman Archie's Acme cab, he promises that you are "about to experience a ride with the latest and greatest."  But despite being the "smiling face of the city" for many tourists and new residents, as a 30-year Columbus cabbie veteran, Archie says that the city has frequently given him "a cold shoulder in return."  "I've seen it all, and I can tell you this: Columbus is not a cab-friendly town," said Archie, 59, a Linden native.

 

But the mayor and a taxicab committee are working to change that.  After more than a year of monthly deliberations, an 18-member committee of community, business and city leaders hopes that making it tougher to be a cabbie and easier to hail a cab, and giving away gifts to tourists, might make for a better cab town.  "Being able to hail a cab is critical for any growing city, and Columbus is stuck in the 1950s," said Cleve Ricksecker, committee member and director of Capital Crossroads, an organization of 550 Downtown property owners.