Bethel's largest cab company battling post-COVID-19 business

Bethel-based Kusko Cab is fearing that it may shut down if business continues to go the way it is. The 1972 cab company shuttered its doors for a little over a week at the tail-end of March as many of its drivers felt unsafe transporting total strangers during a pandemic.

Now, co-founder Naim Shabani fears the future of Kusko Cab is going downhill. With a flat rate of $5, many cab riders requesting empty cabs, and the mathematical impossibility of keeping the same level of traffic with fewer cab drivers, he’s unsure how long they can stay afloat.

Shabani also hasn’t charged the same dispatch fee and weekly renter’s fee for the cab given the lack of riders and empty cab requests.

“In the last two and a half months, Kusko Cab has made zero dollars off of its drivers...”

Attempts to mend this financial struggle have been purposed. In an attempt to help, City Manager Vincenzo Corazza purposed an ordinance that would require cabs to install a meter. This would make the ability to maintain private cabs and profit. Though, it’s not going to see the light of day as the city council dismissed the idea.

Problem is, this causes a double problem for Kusko Cab and other cab companies. If the citizens are willing to share a cab with another person and the council isn’t wanting to raise cab fare, there’s not much they can do.