MOUNT VERNON — Despite a short hiatus over the weekend, Mount Vernon’s only private cab company is still in operation, according to Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis and Safe Cab owner Virgil Bird.

An oversight on the mayor’s part caused inaccurate information to be provided to the public and the Mount Vernon Police Department.

“We were closed down around 11 p.m. Saturday,” Bird said. “City police pulled over my driver, claiming the mayor said there were no cab companies operating in the city.”

Mavis acknowledges going through folders last week looking for updates as to which cab companies were still in operation. He said he talked with two of the companies and confirmed they were no longer open, but did not talk to Bird.

Safe Cab opened in March and closed mid-April, Bird said. Mavis said he knew Safe Cab had closed, but did not see any paperwork in the company’s folder that stated it had re-opened.

“I did see an insurance reinstatement for Safe Cab, but should have followed up on it,” Mavis said.

Bird said the company has been back in operation since June 24, and has been providing a much-needed service to city residents.

“A lot of people go to work before and after MOTA opens,” Bird said. “On Friday and Saturday nights, they don’t want to be driving, so we take them home. A lot of times we will pick them up again in the morning to take them to their cars.”

The timing of Safe Cab’s shutdown seemed a little suspicious to Bird after reading in Saturday’s edition of the News about a countywide crack down on drunk driving scheduled to start that night.

“There was a big DUI sweep this weekend, and it just seemed we were closed down in conjunction with that,” Bird said.

Mavis said it was purely coincidental.

“That wasn’t the case at all,” Mavis said. “It is good that people have the opportunity to use a designated driver or an alternative like a cab. That just keeps everyone safe.”

When word started to spread that Safe Cab would not be taking bar patrons home Saturday night, Mavis received a few late-night phone calls at home, one asking if he would take the caller home from the bar.

Sunday morning, Mavis returned to his office to go through Safe Cab’s file again after talking with Bird. By Sunday afternoon, the MVPD was informed that Safe Cab was in fact authorized to operate in the city.

Although the issue is squared away, Bird remains unhappy with his loss of profit.

“No one has talked about my loss of revenue,” he said.

Bird said he lost about $1,200 in business from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon.

According to city legislation, the mayor is responsible for licensing cab companies, cars and drivers. Background checks are made locally and through BCII for drivers, and Mavis personally inspects the cars to make sure they are safe and operational.

Legislative language is being scripted to turn the responsibility of licensing cab companies over to the Mount Vernon Police Department, Mavis said.