HYANNIS — Nine white Ford Crown Victoria taxis were parked in Town Taxi’s parking lot on Tuesday. One’s windshield was shattered. Another’s front grill was caved in. Metal parts overflowed from the trunk of another.  

Those battered and bruised cars, along with 30 working company cabs, are heading to the junkyard in the sky, according to Town Taxi owner Peter Cutler. Market conditions, increasing expenses, and ongoing staff shortages have forced Cutler and his son, Jon, to close the business on March 30 after 50 years. 

“We do 150-200 calls a day but we have to do 300,” Peter Cutler said in a March 25 interview at the taxi garage at 63 Cit Ave. “It’s just not enough. With Uber and Lyft around, there’s no ramp to 300 calls a day.” 

The two men sat in Jon Cutler’s office just across the hall from the dispatch office. Dispatcher Ivan Hrlstozov and office manager John Otten sat in front of big computer monitors showing the locations of 10 drivers in the mid-Cape area. Most of them were waiting and available for calls.  

A Dennis-Yarmouth 2011 Division 2A State Champs letter jacket hung inside a glass frame on his wall. Jon Cutler was the football coach when the Dolphins won that championship. Today the 46-year-old is spending his time with two young daughters and building an e-commerce business. His T-shirt read: Dumbbells, Deadlifts and Daughters.  

When Uber and Lyft came into the picture

It was 2015 when Uber and Lyft came into the picture and business started declining, Jon Cutler said. The ride-hailing companies were unregulated when they first began operations. Taxi companies were heavily regulated. They had to be licensed and insured, their meters inspected, and driver’s backgrounds checked by the police.  

“The ride share companies pushed taxis out of business all over the country because they were such freewheeling operations,” Peter Cutler said. 

Jon Cutler was all in on fighting the ride-hailing competition at first. He rebranded the company, did away with a checkered design and added images of blue ferries, lighthouses and planes to the cars. Town Taxi, its double T logo, and its easy-to-remember telephone number (508-775-5555) were emblazoned on the sides. But the marketing person he worked with cautioned him against spending too much money. 

“I wouldn’t be too comfortable spending a lot of money fighting a company backed by Google,” she told him.  

COVID-19 impact on taxis

COVID-19 hit in 2020, and businesses closed during the pandemic, making matters worse. Housing prices skyrocketed and many 25- to 40-year-olds moved off the Cape, adding to the decline. There were fewer service workers to carry and fewer applicants for driving jobs. 

“It’s been a death by a thousand cuts,” Jon Cutler said. “It’s been a little bit of everything. We were never going to expand.” 

During the interview, a call came in for a ride and Hrlstozov typed the pickup and destination addresses into his computer. A software program floated the demand to the 10 drivers on schedule that morning. Within seconds, one of the drivers picked it up. His taxi icon turned blue on a monitor showing a map of the area. A gray icon showed a driver on break. Eight green icons showed the distribution of available drivers. 

About 10% to 15% of regular customers use the Town Taxi app, Peter Cutler said. Uber and Lyft apps beat out Town Taxi for people new to the area, or those on vacation. Town Taxi is third on the list, he said.

“Who’s going to download a Town Taxi app on vacation?” he asked.

Peter Cutler has been semi-retired for years but comes to the office regularly. He was sporting a Cape Cod Senior Softball League baseball cap while recounting the early years of the company. He remembered when there were taxi stands on Main Street in Hyannis. How the snow drifts used to cover cars when the company was on Willow Street near the airport. How in the company’s heyday there were 150 drivers and more than 40 cabs. No more.

“There are so many stories,” Cutler’s son added. “A cab driver who’s been around long enough has seen it all.”

There are regular customers

The company has its share of regular customers. They carry a lot of service workers to their jobs at restaurants, hotels and retailers, but even that business has dropped off. They have an account with Cape Cod Hospital and will pick up passengers there. They often work with Duffy Medical Center ferrying people to and from appointments.   

Some regulations have caught up with the ride-hailing companies, but Uber and Lyft have added another weapon to their arsenal. Dynamic or surge pricing allows drivers to make more money when demand is high. That’s something Town Taxi can’t offer. Their rates are set at $3 a mile, whether it’s rush hour or 3 a.m. And they are available 24/7. Uber and Lyft drivers don’t have to be. 

Even the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority has a cut into business with its SmartDART on-demand ride hail service. It offers rides within geographic zones for $3.

There are at least two other taxi services remaining in the area.

“We’re sorry to have to do this,” Peter Cutler said.

Denise Coffey writes about business, tourism and issues impacting the Cape’s residents and visitors. Contact her at dcoffey@capecodonline.com .   

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