Every day, colorful taxicabs with cheerful and exotic Spanish names dart in and out of busy Gainesville streets and thoroughfares. Even for Esteban Andrade, who has lived in Gainesville for almost 30 years and has made a living driving cabs, it is difficult to keep up with the names of new taxi companies cropping up. After more than 20 years driving for other companies, Andrade decided to open up his own line — Taxi El Sol — a year and a half ago.
Taxicab boom in Gainesville driving a growing need
Number of cabbies in Gainesville up 118 percent since 2006