If taxis were more convenient, more people would use them. To someone looking for incentives to ditch his car, that seems obvious.
Luckily Seattle may license more cabs, according to the Seattle P-I. Yet officials are reluctant because the extra competition could hurt existing drivers. (Seattle has 643 taxis and King County 200+ more.)
Why not consider taxis a part of the city's transportation network, alongside buses, rail, carpooling and biking? How about adding as many as the market will bear? The city could help by establishing taxi stands in every neighborhood.
Compare Seattle to compact cities. Boston has about 1,800, San Francisco 1,400 and Denver more than 900, according to this study. Vancouver is listed as having about 500.