Saugus OKs taxi license for upstart

SAUGUS – A Saugus taxi company appeared before selectmen to protest the licensing of a new rival because it could hurt its business.Karina Flaquer of Saugus Center Taxi asked board members to vote against granting Ziad Hamdan a license to a taxicab business for five taxis for his proposed business, Global Transportation, Inc.Flaquer said there are already three or four taxi services in Saugus, with one of the companies operating without a license, and not enough business for all of them. She said Saugus Center Taxi, though approved for five cars, only has two cars on the road because business is so slow. “We?re looking to put the third car on the road as soon as business picks up,” she said. Flaquer said, for an example, that as of the meeting, her service had only one job on Tuesday evening.Flaquer added for good measure that her company had “given back to the community” by giving seniors a 20 percent discount and occasionally lowering fees for students. “I?ve always been excited to work here,” she said.Flaquer hoped her opposition to Hamdan?s proposed business would be considered by the board because of how slow business had been, but the board was silent to her request.Selectman Paul Allan suggested after hearing Hamdan?s proposal that he be granted licenses on a car-by-car basis, since, according to his plan, he would only start with two cars on the road in Saugus anyway. Hamdan also has one car operating in Malden and has 13 years experience driving in Cambridge.Other board members agreed with Allan, which led to a motion that Hamdan be allowed to operate in Saugus with the two-car start, voted unanimously by the board.