A second vehicle has been added to the fleet of Vicksburg’s only taxi cab company that resumed business three weeks ago.

“The second taxi cab was added Sept. 27,” Deputy City Clerk John Carroll said Tuesday.

He said the vehicle had passed inspection by the Vicksburg Police Department, as well as paid the $15 privilege license fee, both mandatory to operate in the city.

Francis Williams, brother of company owner Joseph Williams and technical operator for Rocket Cab, confirmed the second vehicle’s use.

Rocket Cab, which operates on a call-and-response service and takes appointments, rolled back into business Sept. 20 after seven years off, Francis Williams said, and after a year of no taxi service in Vicksburg following the shutdown of J5 Cab Company.

“We came back because there was no service in town and people have been asking for us,” Francis Williams said.

He said the company plans to build its fleet to seven taxi cabs.

“If things keep going in a positive direction, we’ll have seven cars,” he said.

The addition came as NRoute public transit system, citing financial woes and low ridership, discontinued two of its routes, on Porters Chapel Road and U.S. 61 South, and its Saturday runs.

Other prospective cab companies have begun the process of operating in the city, Carroll said, but have fallen short on necessary paperwork.

Rocket Cab had operated in the city until June 2003, when its operating permit was revoked after the company was cited for noncompliance with safety checks and proof of insurance.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