Yellow Cab in Sioux Falls shuts down after 70 years

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Yellow Cab has been in Sioux Falls for more than 70 years, but due to recent struggles, the owner has decided to shut down.

Tallie West is the 4th generation owner of Yellow Cab and has worked there for 34 years.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow when I’m the one that has to make this decision but it’s just the way it is,” West said.

Tallie said the most difficult part of the closure was telling her employees.

A major issue that yellow cab faced is when Lyft and Uber came to town. Not only did it create more competition but also made it difficult to find drivers.

“It takes quite a bit to become a cab driver. You have to get approved by the insurance, you have to get a taxi license, you have to get approved by the city. So it’s a more difficult process to get a taxi license whereas for Lyft and Uber there’s not much to it. Even if I could drum up more business I don’t have enough staff to be able to do it,” West said.

Tallie also wanted to give a final thank you to her staff.

“The drivers that I have now all put themselves out there every day. They worked long hours put themselves at risk with COVID and I commend them for that and I’d like that to be recognized,” West said.

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