Telephone lines are out of service at five Whitehorse cab companies, and the owner has yet to explain why.
Robert Simard owns Yellow Cab, Quality Cabs, Whitehorse Taxi, Northstar Taxi and 5th Ave Taxi.
Dave Pruden, Whitehorse’s manager of bylaw services, said he learned that the phones were down on Tuesday.
Pruden has tried to get in touch with the owner, but Simard’s cell phone number is also out of service, he said.
The five companies only represented six cabs in the city, said Pruden.
Two of the taxi drivers had relocated to other companies as of Thursday afternoon, he said.
There are six companies still operating in the city, with a total of about 40 taxis, said Pruden.
Ken Giam owns Premier Cabs. He hired on two of the drivers left without work after the sudden disappearance of Simard’s companies, he said.
They were both part of the Yukon Nominee Program, and they were in a tough spot, said Giam.
“They are now like, ‘What am I going to do?’ They are foreigners. They don’t have any family here.”
An administrator for the nominee program called him and asked if he could take them on, said Giam.
The News was not able to reach Simard for comment by press time.