business potential at that point, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.” Now Ghosn and his brothers, James and Jeffrey, control Yellows Cab and its day to day operations. Ghosn grew up born and raised in Halifax, N.S. From Rockingham Elementary to Halifax West High School and university at Dalhousie, he always had an interest in running his own business. “We looked at Yellow Cab, and my father suggested we do our due diligence. We saw strong business potential at that point, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.” “I have been pushing to continue growing a strong real estate portfolio, which led to Yellow Cab. Now I’m in both industries, and it’s opened so many doors,” he said. “I’m a taxi consumer turned owner, and I can see both sides of the coin. I was surprised that their brand was so recognizable and had so much potential.” When Ghosn and his brothers bought Yellow Cab, they only had 125 of the roughly 1,000 cab roofli- ghts available in the city. “There was a lack of innovation from the aging ownership. We put our spin and grew to now almost 200 cars in our fleet,” he said. “The industry was so dated, and we were stuck in the 1990’s. We made a strong technology push.” The entire fleet has gone from running on radios to having dispatch and meters running through an LTE network. “Our infrastructure is tidy and neat, and we are entering a whole new world now,” he said. “We grew up with the mentality of working hard. We are looking at every aspect to continue growing this brand.” Now, Ghosn is expanding the limousine service for Yellow Cab in order to capture a new market.
“People have always called wanting limos or exec- utive cars. Instead of outsourcing, we are expand- ing through this company. We are in the process of purchasing limos,” says Ghosn, about Excalibur, the limo company offshoot. “Right now we are looking into purchasing a party bus, and we have access to 12 limo towncars we are using for requests. But before the end of 2019, we will own our own limos and party bus in house.” After a contentious council meeting in February that may see the city add 600 taxi licenses for the city, drivers have come out to say the changes will drive them out of the industry. The recommendation of 600 licenses came from municipal staff to address a 500 person waitlist and gender diversity issues. Ghosn has been asked non-stop for his opinion on the changing industry. “The city approved amending taxi bylaws, and it was in desperate need. The process hasn’t been done properly since the early 1990’s. It’s important these conversations are had, and there’s room to grow and have positive experiences,” he said. “We solve problems for a living. I am a firmbeliever that we can work with the city and make adjust- ments that will have a positive impact for both taxi drivers and the consumers.” The city is also moving to regulate services like Uber and Lyft, should they come to pass in HRM. “As long as things stay at an even playing field, I don’t think that would dramatically affect us,” said Ghosn. “A lot of ridesharing can give them the upper-hand, but the city has the right mindset here.” “I don’t think the city would put time into regu- lating, controlling and creating safer cabs if they wanted Uber and Lyft to come in and contradict the rules. They are upgrading our industry, and the mindset of council can accomplish great things.” The industry has also seen sweeping changes in terms of safety in the last few years, after a number of sexual assault cases involving drivers went through media and the courts.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • MARCH 2019
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