Pink Taxi gets green light to be Park Ridge’s first cab competitor

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Updated: March 11, 2012 8:11AM

For the first time, the city of Park Ridge is home to two licensed — and competing — taxi-cab companies.

Pink Taxi was awarded a certificate of operation during the Feb. 6 City Council meeting. Aldermen approved the measure as part of the meeting’s consent agenda and there was no discussion or public comment.

The City Council’s approval grants Pink Taxi a minimum of five livery licenses and a maximum of 10, allowing the company to lawfully pick up and drop off fares within the city of Park Ridge.

Pink Taxi’s headquarters is located at 800 Busse Highway in Park Ridge, and the company is licensed in Arlington Heights, as well.

This week’s quiet approval was starkly different from the public hearing held Jan. 23 when supporters of both Pink Taxi and Park Ridge Taxi traded accusations about poor business practices. Pink Taxi’s owner, Patricia Carpenter, previously operated Park Ridge Taxi, which was sold to its current owner in 2005.

Pink Taxi’s cabs, painted in a vibrant shade of pink, promote breast-cancer awareness and the company will contribute profits to breast-cancer research, according to its website.