Yellow Cab Drives Through 70 Years of Great Service By Nerissa McNaughton
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axi! It only takes a few moments to summon a Yellow Cab, and long before that cab escorts you to your destination, the car and the driver have been primed to give you the safest and most courteous service. This has been their mandate for 70 years. In 1945, Walter Miller and Joe Ferraro purchased McNeil’s Taxi from John McNeil. The men rebranded the company to Yellow Cab and operated 16 units from a Quonset hut in front of the Fairmont MacDonald Hotel. In 1958 Val Taylor joined the company and operated it with Ferraro until 1974, when it was acquired by Grey Goose Bus Lines and Laidlaw. In 1999, Laidlaw purchased Barrel Taxi and Checker Cab, of which Phil Strong was a co-owner. In 2006, Strong spearheaded the purchase of the entire operation. “That’s when we consolidated to Greater Edmonton Taxi Service (GETS),” says CEO Strong. Today, comprised of Yellow Cab, Barrel Taxi, Checker and Prestige Cabs, GETS provides 24-hour service. Strong, who drove taxi while attending university, was always an entrepreneur with a sense of what would make a good investment; and under his leadership, the brand is flourishing on and off the streets. “Now, we are a lot more than taxis,” smiles Strong. For example, their hot shot/delivery service brings documents, packages and parts to where they need to go without the wait time seen by regular courier services. “We do quite a lot of parcel delivery,” he informs. “Lots are out of town. If a service rig needs a part, we’ll take it out to them. For products that are needed quickly, we can deliver faster than a courier company and we don’t charge a hot shot fee.”
CEO Phil Strong
Yellow Cab • 70 Years 75