Broadway Cab recently relocated offices and its vehicle yard from NE Emerson Street to the former fueling center at 9270 NE Glisan Street. The site’s proximity to Portland International Airport, Interstates 205 and 84, and its size make it well suited to the transportation-oriented business’s needs.
The nearly century-old Portland cab company purchased the property and moved operations to the site on February 1st. The site previously served as a hub for B4 Transportation after the previous owners removed all refueling equipment from the property. Broadway Cab selected the Montavilla site after an exhaustive two-year search by its new General Manager, Roger Stelmach. The expanded space will assist the company’s regrowth efforts as the traditional taxi industry adjusts to a market upended by app-based ride-hailing services. “Before Uber and Lyft, there were eight cab companies in Portland, and now we’re down to four,” said Stelmach. Ownership brought him in to bolster the taxi company that once employed 400 drivers but had declined substantially in recent years. Stelmach estimates his efforts helped regrow the drive base by 20 to 25 percent. They now employ well over 100 cab operators and offer expanded services. Accessibility-equipped vehicles now account for a sizable segment of Broadway Cab’s fleet, allowing the company to provide medical transport with wheelchair-ramped vans and support people’s mobility needs beyond what other providers may accommodate.
Broadway Cab is actively seeking new drivers, and the company now allows drivers to keep their assigned vehicles at home so drivers no longer have to come to the main yard to start or end a shift. “The only cabs I have here on the property are cabs waiting to be picked up, new cabs for new drivers, or cabs that are being serviced. Drivers these days don’t drop by every morning and pick up the cab,” explained Stelmach. “That [change in procedure] was to compete with Uber and Lyft, and the drivers love it.” That modern taxi vehicle policy should also keep the new location from clogging during shift changes, lessening the impact on local traffic. Although, the facility is well designed for efficient vehicle access with dedicated entry and exit gates, explained Stelmach.
Crews refreshed the office building before Broadway Cab staff moved into the NE Glisan space. However, Roger Stelmach said that besides the office upgrades, the deep lot had most of what they needed, including a large storage yard and shop space for minor vehicle servicing. Most cab repair work happens offsite through the company’s longtime mechanic, Portland Auto Services, which is conveniently located on the same street at 7510 NE Glisan Street.
Eight people regularly work from this NE Glisan Street location, with daytime dispatchers working alongside administrative staff. The company offers 24-hour taxi dispatch anywhere in Portland via the 503-333-3333 phone number. Riders can also book online or use the Broadway Cab mobile phone app. The cab company intends to remove the decommissioned fueling apparatus at the front gates eventually and make other upgrades to their property as they make roots in the neighborhood.
