Photo courtesy of Ross Lavigne

By Scott Roblin

Temporary Closure

Yelo-Cabs to suspend operations in Redcliff for next two weeks

Mar 19, 2020 | 1:49 PM

REDCLIFF, AB – Residents in Redcliff will be without taxi services in their community for at least the next two weeks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yelo-Cabs confirmed to CHAT News that they will be shutting down operations until at least the first week of April starting at 6:00 pm on Thursday.

Owner Pat Kolly said a handful of their drivers have entered into self isolation and need to prioritize the health and safety of their employees.

“I have one driver down now and I have another driver that’s not feeling good,” said Kolly. “So, if my drivers aren’t feeling good and we haul so many seniors, we just made a decision today to say, ‘No, we’re not going to risk the lives of people.’”

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The two week suspension isn’t expected to be permanent for the company, as they will be re-evaluating the feasibility of getting back onto the road at that point.

Kolly said this decision is one that will affect the company from a financial standpoint, but added business has slowed down considerably in recent weeks.

“We’re just planning on doing it for two weeks to get my drivers recovered,” she said. “We just figured it’s time to shut it down because we’re not making any money at all, everybody is scared to go anywhere.”

Due to passengers entering and exiting the Yelo-Cab vehicles and the lack of symptoms for many diagnosed with COVID-19, Kolly added it’s the right decision for her company to make at this point.

“It’s not worth it at this time and point right now,” she said. “There’s so much infection going on, you don’t know if you’ve got the virus, you don’t know if you’ve got the cold or the flu. We just can’t do it anymore.”

Deluxe Central Taxi in Medicine Hat has confirmed they are still fully operational but have increased cleaning and sanitization measures in all of their vehicles.

Care Cabs in Medicine Hat also confirmed they are fully operational and have rigorous cleaning practices.