North Grenville residents now have another option to get around the municipality. Elite Taxi hit the road for the first time on Thursday, October 29, after a few months of working with North Grenville Bylaw to ensure they met all the requirements for a reputable taxi company in the municipality. They would have started offering their services sooner, but they weren’t able to meet the municipality’s old requirement of having $5 million in general liability insurance.

“When we finally got the insurance stuff sent in, when we got it back, they said: we’re not doing $5 million. We don’t even offer it,” says Elite Taxi owner Fletcher Wehmeyer.

On October 20, council passed a resolution to drop the $5 million insurance requirement to $2 million, which is standard across the industry. Fletcher was extremely happy about this decision, as they already had both of their cars ready to go. “I even had the meters already in, and everything was done. It was just a matter of if and when.”

Fletcher is looking forward to having Elite Taxi become an integral part of the North Grenville community. He has been working in the taxi business for a while, and owns some taxis with Executive Taxi in Brockville. “My father in law actually owns the company there, and I’ve been helping them manage and do some stuff around the business. I was looking at how I could expand on my own.”

Seeing as North Grenville didn’t have an active taxi company, it seemed like the perfect fit. “It’s growing so fast,” he says. “It’s a great community.”

Right now, they have two taxis, with plans for more, and their home base is at 200 Sanders Street, near the B&H. Fletcher is driving the taxi at night, while his mother, Mary Lyn Baker, has been looking after days.

While the first week or so has been slow, Fletcher says he is already enjoying meeting people in the community. He hopes Elite Taxi will become a trusted name in North Grenville.

“I want a good reputation too. That’s a big thing. Clean looking cars, reliable cars, reliable service. We worked really hard to get that in Brockville and I want that same mentality here.”

He also hopes to be an affordable option for people who may not have access to a vehicle. To facilitate this, they will be putting together a flat rate program for people to get to and from work. “It’s just to help individuals budget. It’s always the same price, to and from work, even if it’s a crazy snowstorm and it takes longer to get there.” They also offer a 10% discount for seniors.

All the Elite Taxi cars are outfitted with a plexiglass barrier between passenger and driver, and they also supply masks and hand sanitizer to make sure clients and drivers are safe. They take all forms of payment (except for cheques), including debit, credit, apps like apple pay, and cash.

L-R Councillor Doreen O’Sullivan, Elite Taxi owner Fletcher Weh

Mayor Peckford and members of council met Fletcher in the B&H parking lot last week to officially welcome Elite Taxi to the municipality. Mayor Peckford said that, in a community that is growing as quickly as North Grenville, it is welcome news that residents will have another option for transportation.

For more information, visit the Elite Taxi Facebook page, or contact them at 613-215-1516, or elitetaxikemptville@gmail.com.

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