Click on the picture to see a larger version.

William Ferguson left Diamond Taxi in 1928 to start his own taxi company (see 'Old Line' Companies (2)). Thanks to General Tire's sponsorship this ad gave Ferguson a brief moment of visibility, but there was no way that Ferguson or other small operators could compete seriously with George Moore's relentless high-profile marketing.

Source:

Winnipeg Free Press, April 1, 1935, p. 19.

Winnipeg Cab History / 66

The Winnipeg Taxi War (6)

Moore's advertising campaign convinced the taxi riding public that fares were too high and to everyone's dismay except Moore's there was, in Mayor George Webb's words, an "unbelievable" decline in ridership. The crisis forced Webb to call a meeting of cab operators only three weeks after the bylaw had been passed.

After hours of wrangling with Moore on one side and almost everybody else on the other, the participants voted in favour of a minimum wage for drivers, public liability insurance of $5000, and a minimum fare based on the measured mile which in effect legally abolished the zone system.

George Moore naturally opposed the minimum wage and the measured mile fare but he was outvoted. Nevertheless he came out of the meeting with one significant victory.

The meeting declined to recommend the imposition of compulsory meters on the grounds that "a great deal of propaganda" against meters had convinced the public that they meant high taxi fares. The chief instigator of the propaganda was, of course, George Moore.