Eagle-watchers arriving at the ferry terminal and airport were left in the lurch this week when the only company providing local taxi service stopped operating Nov. 5.
Anytime Taxi and Tours owner Dave Landry said he was hoping to stay open for the American Bald Eagle Festival, but said company expenses have outrun his ability to absorb them. He’s going back to carpentry work for a living.
“I thought we could stay open for the festival, but I had to choose between keeping it going and feeding our kids and keeping our house warm,” Landry said. He’s now considering seasonal operation, but said heavy snow also could generate enough fares to make the business work.
Landry started the business three years ago. Last winter, the company’s first at full operation, lost money, he said. “We spent half the summer or more catching up on bills. I could go to a shuttle and tour operation, but we wanted to take care of the community (with taxi service),” he said.
Lack of taxi service is a concern for festival organizers, hotels and Haines Borough tourism director Leslie Ross. Officials at the borough visitor’s center and at the American Bald Eagle Foundation said they heard concerns about visitors having a difficult time getting to town.
Aspen Hotel co-manager Cindy Smith said her hotel is now talking to its corporate office to start offering a shuttle service, but that won’t be in place for the weekend. Visitors are “making their way in,” she said. “There’s not much we can do unless we have the proper channels in line.”
Captain’s Choice Motel, which runs a shuttle for its guests, previously provided rides from the ferry terminal to town for people other than customers, but then it started receiving complaints from a taxi company.
“Every once in a while, we’ll bring people in sometimes when it’s raining and windy out there, but can’t do anything for hire. We’re not licensed or insured for that kind of thing,” said general manager Larry Beck.
Taxi operator Landry said a fixed expense that hurts his company is an insurance requirement that requires him to pay much more than taxis pay in Juneau and other places.