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Mr. Cab Driver

Qikiqtarjuaq’s only taxi company gets a new vehicle and a larger market

The only taxi service in Qikiqtarjuaq got bigger this year. Jaypootie Aliqatuqtuq, who runs Tuugaaq Taxi, used to drive a tiny, second-hand Hyundai Pony — until last summer, when a Chevy Astro minivan with his name on the registration rolled off the sealift.

The van is parked, engine running, outside Aliqatuqtuq’s house. Exhaust from the tailpipe hangs in the air. Next to the house is a small grey car covered with snow.

Inside, Aliqatuqtuq sits at the dining room table, a wildlife show on polar bears playing on the TV nearby. Tuugaaq Taxi’s business licence is framed and prominently displayed on the kitchen counter.

He’s supposed to leave to pick up his wife soon at the Northern Store, he says, but he doesn’t mind having a chat before heading out.

Business has been much better since he acquired the minivan, he admits, but it ebbs and flows depending on what’s going on in town. This week, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association is in Qikiqtarjuaq for board meetings, so Aliqatuqtuq is on the road for most of the day.

He bought his first taxi, the Pony covered in snow, from a neighbour in the community some years ago. The Kakivak Association helped him pay for insurance and office equipment. Then he decided it was time to expand.

He bought the Chevy van with help from the hamlet and the Department of Sustainable Development.

Aliqatuqtuq, who sits on the hamlet council, made a deal with the DSD to have the cheque written to the hamlet on his behalf so the hamlet can advance him money to meet the deadline to pay for the minivan.

He also managed to secure a contract last April with the Department of Health and Social Services to transport patients to the airport by stretcher. In 2003, he will have an opportunity to renew the contract.

Not only does the van act as an ambulance, it also plays the role of school bus.

"I have one student who is handicapped that I pick her up every morning and lunch and after school," Aliqatuqtuq says. The arrangement was made with the principal of the school and the government.

When he’s away or not able to drive, he makes sure there is someone on call, he explains, but for now he’s the only full-time employee and the Hyundai sits parked. He hopes that will change in the future.

Aliqatuqtuq can be seen throughout the day driving down the short streets in his brown van with a yellow light on top. He drives people to and from the airport for $3, and is letting the Hyundai take a well-deserved break.

"It’s running really well," he says of the minivan. "There’s no problem with the cold. In the morning it starts pretty much right away."

He bought it with 60,000 kilometres on it. "It was like new," he says, smiling.

Like any other driver, though, Aliqatuqtuq says his major challenge is with the price of gas. At 92.7¢ per litre, it can make a dent in the wallet.

"This big vehicle eats more gas, that’s the only thing," he says, before turning off the TV and getting his jacket. Although she’s not a paying customer, his wife is waiting.

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