With two companies just one hurdle away from final clearance to begin operations, Deputy City Clerk John Carroll said Tuesday he is confident taxi cab service will return to Vicksburg soon.

“I believe in the next week or so, we’ll have at least one company in operation,” Carroll said after the Vicksburg Transportation Board’s monthly meeting.

Carroll does not sit on the three-member board but attends meetings and has been working with four potential cab companies to see that their proper registration papers are filed, fees are paid, vehicles are inspected and insurance requirements are met.

Rocket Cab Company and Eagle Eye Transportation have made the most progress since clearing the first hurdle by getting their certificate of responsibility applications approved in July and August, Carroll told the board.

“All (Rocket) would have to do at this time to get one vehicle rolling would be to provide the necessary liability insurance,” Carroll said.

Rocket Cab operated in the city until June 2003, when its operating permit was revoked after the company was cited for noncompliance with safety checks and proof of insurance.

Under an ordinance passed in 2003, cab companies are required to carry a minimum liability insurance policy of $75,000 for injury or death, and $150,000 for each accident or damage to property. Cab operators have said such policies can cost more than $1,000 per month per cab. The ordinance, along with the establishment of the NRoute mini-bus system in 2006, has frequently been cited by prospective cab operators as the main impediment to getting up and running.

Eagle Eye Transportation, whose owners have also run a cab company and airport transportation service in Jackson, needs to pay its registration fees to get final clearance and begin operations. City of Vicksburg permit fees for startup cab companies total $300 annually for up to five cabs and $25 for each additional cab.

Meanwhile, CJ’s Taxi and River City Cab Company have not made any progress since getting approval for a certificate of responsibility in June, Carroll said.

The city-appointed transportation board disbanded last summer, shortly after the July closure of J5 Cab Company — which left the city without cab service for the first time in 75 years. It re-formed and began meeting again in April, after several prospective companies voiced interest in bringing cab service back. Chairman Jim Stirgus Jr. said he’s been pleased thus far with the progress being made.

“I thought it would have gone a little quicker, but in today’s economy I think we’re doing well,” Stirgus said.

Transportation board member Rita Wyatt also was at Tuesday’s meeting, which lasted 10 minutes and amounted to an update of the prospective company’s progress. Police Chief Walter Armstrong also attended.