Kelowna Cabs adds a Tesla to its fleet of more than 70 cars

Kelowna Cabs is changing the way you taxi by adding a Tesla to its fleet.

The move makes it the second taxi company in Kelowna to expand into Tesla territory, after Current Taxi added the all-electric vehicles to its fleet in February 2017. 

Kelowna Cabs media spokesperson Roy Paulson says he hopes the company’s decision will provide many future benefits. 

“This is the first Tesla that’s in our fleet. We are trying to update our fleet, keeping up with the times, looking at being green because of the way the climate is. We’re pushing for that, and eventually maybe it will roll over to more Teslas than the cars we have now.

"Most of our shareholders are watching and seeing how this one is doing because it's the very first. Looking at the big picture, it’s a little less expensive to operate because there’s no oil changes, and the price of gas is going crazy. We’re confident we’ll have more coming in soon, maybe even before the new year.” 

Paulson says the new Tesla can cover up to 500 kilometres on a charge, which makes the drivers’ jobs easier when they are travelling such long distances. The service comes with no additional cost to riders.

At the moment, the Tesla taxi can’t be specifically requested out of fairness to other Kelowna Cabs vehicles, but cab driver Bhupinder says customers who have had the luck of riding in it have been more than pleased. For many people, it’s the first time they’ve been in a Tesla. 

"Everybody gets excited. When we come, they ask "are we going to get the Tesla?" and we say yes, and everybody is happy. They're surprised to see the Tesla as part of Kelowna Cabs."

Kelowna Cabs boasts the largest fleet in the Okanagan, with more than 70 cars.