Local taxi service for Forks and residents of nearby West End towns is scheduled to begin this week.

Forks Taxi is owned by Lee and Jackie Moore of Beaver. The couple received approval for a City of Forks taxi license at the Monday, Nov. 22 meeting of the City Council.

“We saw a need for it,” Lee Moore said of the plan to start-up a Forks-based taxi service, which he said had been lacking for about five years following the death of the lady then operating a taxi.

Moore is the operations managers and is in sales with Petitt Oil at the company’s Forks office. His wife Jackie is an assistant manager with True Value in Forks.

The couple plan to run the taxi business while continuing to work their regular jobs.

“We have four drivers, full time, to run the cab seven days a week,” he said. All drivers are independent contractors, and are all over 25 years old, plus have completed background checks.

“We (saw this) might be an opportunity for something that’s needed and maybe make a few bucks,” Moore said.

The taxi is a white 2004 Ford Crown Victoria. Rigby’s Auto Body added the detailing needed to turn the vehicle into a taxi including a yellow taxi sign for its roof.

“The car is really comfortable to ride in,” Moore said.

He said fares will be slightly lower than charged in many locations elsewhere in the state, and that drivers of the metered taxi will only charge by distance driven. Entry into the cab costs $2.45, and then $1.70 per mile. “That’s about $6.00 or less to most points within city limits,” Moore said. A ride from downtown Forks to downtown Port Angeles will cost about $100. From downtown Forks to Beaver will be about $16-$17.

He said Forks Taxi is allowed to pick up passengers anywhere within city limits, and in rural areas outside of town. Forks Taxi drivers can drop off, but not pick up, passengers within the city limits of Port Angeles or Sequim. Picking up passengers in Sequim or Port Angeles would require a separate license from those cities.

Taxi cabs licensed in Port Angeles cannot pick up fares within the city limits of Forks, unless they are licensed in Forks, Moore said, but can drop off passengers who start their ride in Port Angeles.

While Forks Taxi isn’t running set tours like the local Twilight tour vans, he said drivers will have the option of driving passengers around town to see the sights.

He’s hopeful that fares picked up during the busy warm-weather tourism season will help balance off-season costs of operating the cab in Forks.