City of Nome Mayor John Handeland reviews city code at a January 27 Nome Common Council work session. Ben Townsend photo.

Council weighs approval of new taxicab permits

The Nome Common Council held a work session Monday to weigh the impacts of issuing new taxicab licenses. The session was organized amid reports of difficulty securing rides.

“People can’t get a cab these days,” Mayor John Handeland said. “I got called at 10 o’clock today to take somebody to Bering Air because they couldn’t get a cab.”

Under city code, the number of taxicab licenses is capped at 13. Nome Checker Cab, LLC currently holds six licenses. Five were issued to Mr. Kab, however the licenses were revoked in 2020, leaving seven available for the city to issue through a lottery.

Councilmember Scot Henderson referred to a section in city code requiring the council to consider the economic impact of issuing new licenses.

“If we have too many permits out there, nobody can make any money. It’s just going to create safety problems and a big mess,” Henderson said.

Henderson said he had heard that Nome Checker Cab was looking for a new owner. Former cab operator, Steven Longley, sat in on the work session and confirmed an asking price of $300,000 for the permits.

Henderson then raised the point that should the city issue new permits, it would undercut the current owner of Nome Checker Cab.

“Is it fair to say that if we issue more permits, we’re going to effectively help destroy the existing cab business or certainly economically damage it?” Henderson asked.

Councilmember Maggie Miller suggested the city’s ongoing port project and ensuing rise in tourism might necessitate expanding options for visitors.

“I see tourists walking all the time between airport and town. And it's not even advertised that well, when people come to town, who to call or that we only have one cab company with two vehicles on the road. So, there's a market,” Miller said.

With one eye on the clock, Handeland pressed for the council to pick a number of permits to consider issuing.

“Why don't we start with three and then how about if we're satisfied with this whole thing as it is written, or if we ought to do a little revision to the section, and then wait a year and see what the interest is,” Handeland said.

The council will vote on a resolution approving or disapproving the new permits at an upcoming city council meeting.

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