A city councillor who had planned to push for the addition of hundreds of new taxi licences in an effort to address Calgary’s peak-hour cab woes has backed down in the face of criticism from drivers.

Coun. Ray Jones — who last month said he would soon bring forward a notice of motion calling for the creation of 310 new taxi licences — said he has decided to hold off after being “inundated” with calls from cab drivers.

“They don’t want it,” Jones told the Herald on Sunday night at the Stampede grounds. “They say it will flood the market, that the drivers won’t be able to make enough money.”

Jones said instead, he will wait for the city’s Taxi and Limousine Advisory Committee — which has already rejected the idea of adding 310 new cabs once before — to bring forward a new proposal. He said he didn’t know what that proposal might be, only that it is in the works and will recommend smaller changes to the system than the motion he would have made.

Each year, Stampede thrusts Calgary’s cab conundrum into the spotlight. While the city’s 1,526 licensed cabs may be more than enough to meet demand at 8 a.m. on a typical Tuesday, they aren’t enough to stop complaints about long waits and late-night busy signals during the 10 days of summer festivities.

This year, there are four taxi stands at the Stampede grounds and peace officers are helping to direct traffic and control crowds. But Coun. Shane Keating, who serves on the city’s transportation and transit committee, said that won’t solve the whole problem.

“I was here last night and there were a lot of cabs down by the grounds, but that leaves the rest of the city open,” said Keating, who was at the chuckwagon races Sunday. “We had a delegation visiting from Quebec City and they tried to get a cab from a restaurant — they said it was horrendous.”

Sandy Jenkins of the Voters for Taxis advocacy group said it’s not just a Stampede problem, it’s an “every Friday night, every Saturday night” problem. Jenkins said there’s no doubt the city needs more taxi licences, preferably ones that are granted on the condition drivers use them during late-night hours only.

But there are other things the city could do to ease the pressure during Stampede, Jenkins said, including enabling limousines and luxury sedans to operate like regular taxis during those 10 days.

“Another thing that would help is enabling taxis from Airdrie and Okotoks — our neighbouring communities — to pick up at the grounds just during Stampede,” he said.

Rupinder Gill, president of Calgary’s newest taxi company, United Cabs, said his fleet received 1,600 calls Friday and 1,670 calls Saturday.

“Not bad for a 65-car fleet on our first Stampede,” Gill said.

Gill said there are things Calgarians can do to make their taxi-hailing experience easier. Staying in the queues at the grounds is a better bet than walking a few blocks and hoping you’ll find a cab farther away, he said. And if you’re at a bar, try to hail a car off the street instead of calling for one.”

Still, Gill said he believes the taxi industry is doing a good job so far this week. He said he picked up a passenger when the bars closed at 2 a.m., drove out to Brentwood, and when he returned to the downtown at 2:45 a.m. there was nobody left.

“I think if you’ve cleared the traffic in 45 minutes, that’s pretty good service,” Gill said. “People need to have realistic expectations.”

astephenson@calgaryherald.com