A New Year's Eve taxi shortage in Windsor is leaving some who are too tipsy to drive out in the cold.

Dec. 31 is typically the busiest night for cab drivers.

The City of Windsor has issued 218 total cab licenses and 198 of them belong to Vets Cab.

"Obviously that is not going to be a sufficient [number] of vehicles to meet our standard three to five minute response time, so patience has to prevail," said Vets Cab general manager Walter Bezzina.

But he said there's no need to increase the number of cabs in Windsor even though on busy nights like New Year's Eve people can wait up to 30 minutes.

"My recommendation is that if you're downtown and you're barhopping, your probably best served by going downtown and hailing a cab as opposed to calling in," said Bezzina.

Once inside the cab Bezzina said partygoers should show respect for the driver by paying upfront for long-distance trips and avoiding getting sick inside the car.

"Go out there and have a good time, but being sick can ruin a driver's night so there has to be respect on both sides," said Bezzina.

He said cabbies must refuse a trip if the patrons try to squeeze more people in the taxi than seatbelts allow.

Some cab drivers have mixed feelings about New Year's Eve business. Although it's busy, it can sometimes be a hassle.

"Especially when you're picking up someone in downtown and especially teenagers. When they are drunk, they don't know what they're doing, what they're saying," said cab driver Jameel Asghar. "It's so hard to deal with them that's why I always prefer to work outside of downtown."