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Taxicab boom in Gainesville driving a growing need
Number of cabbies in Gainesville up 118 percent since 2006
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Esteban Andrade, owner of Taxi El Sol, sits behind the wheel in one of his taxis June 21 in Gainesville. After working as a chauffeur for other taxi companies for 13 years, Andrade started Taxi El Sol, which has been operating for a year and a half. - photo by David Barnes
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.