Busy Bee Cabs wants municipal officers in Gander to stop issuing tickets to their drivers for parking in fire lanes at local businesses, but the town says that's not going to happen.

The company sent a letter to town council saying that "under the present setup in Gander, it is impossible to pick up passengers in front of places like Walmart, Dominion, and Gander Mall without risking getting a ticket."

In the event of an emergency that's where our fire trucks are going to park. - Paul Fudge

In the letter, the company admits that parking in fire lanes goes against the town's bylaws, but asks for council to find a "reasonable solution" so taxi drivers can "provide good service to their valued customers."

Busy Bee Cabs said that "drivers are becoming weary of taking calls at businesses" because they are worried about finding an $82 ticket when they come back out to their vehicle.

The company said some of their passengers are elderly, have disabilities or are carrying merchandise they may need help with loading into the taxi, meaning they may need to park near business doors - where the fire lanes are located.

Fire lane parking a problem

The Gander committee for public works and services said it would not recommend "that this breach of the bylaws be permitted."

And the town's fire chief Paul Fudge said the company is asking for an exemption he can't endorse.

Gander's Fire Chief Paul Fudge says taxi companies will "absolutely not" be exempt from fire lane tickets. (Chris Ensing/CBC)

"You can stop in a fire lane and unload and then leave, but if you stop in the fire lane and unload and wait — it's a ticketable offense. You must move out of the fire lane," said Fudge.

He added there's no way the fire department would agree to exempting taxis to get a special allowance to park in the fire lanes.

"Absolutely not," said Fudge. "The fire lanes are kept clear for a reason. In the event of an emergency that's where our fire trucks are going to park."

Fudge said the town handed out more than 100 tickets for parking in fire lanes over the last 12 months, and that's just the ones that were written out.

"There are lots of time where they just nudge people along, tell them to leave and they'll just leave," said Fudge. "So you can imagine that the numbers are high."

Finding a solution

The ticket topic came up during council's most recent meeting on May 25.

A sign posted at the Gander Mall showing a designated fire lane. (Chris Ensing/CBC)

Coun. Rob Anstey said sometimes taxi drivers will leave their cab parked in the fire lane to go into a store and find their fare.

"This goes against the highway act and everything we do up there," said Anstey.

Council suggested that Busy Bee Cabs canvas local businesses and request a special area of the parking lot to wait for customers.

"What we're saying to them is if you can go to these stores who are having their customers come by taxi and ask for a couple of parking spots out in front like you do for maternity parking spots," said Anstey.

"Maybe get one or two of those over by the side then maybe you'd be able to swing to the front door when the customer comes out."

The owner of Busy Bee Cabs in Gander did not reply to an interview request.