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It’s a scary new day for Edmonton cabbies, but they plan to meet it with a smile.

“We want to greet every customer with a million-buck smile,” says the eloquent and sensible Abouzar Aslam, vice-president of the United Cabbies Association of Edmonton and a longtime cab driver.

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Aslam and his fellow drivers have come up with a new list of best practices for all local cabbies.

“A lot of cab drivers have been doing these things,” Aslam says, “but now we are telling everybody that for our survival we have to adapt. These are the changes we have to bring into our service in order to get back the business we have lost to Uber.”

Edmonton was the first city to legalize the ride-sharing service Uber in Canada. In response, cabbies were last seen cursing the name of Mayor Don Iveson, angrily shutting down a city council meeting and getting banned from council chambers.

But after some reflection on the new competitive environment, as well as some soul-searching about the unhappiness expressed by some Edmonton customers about cab service here, cabbies have decided improving service is the best response.