Cab companies from surrounding communities could get the green light to service Westbrook residents who need rides within the city starting Monday night.

The Westbrook City Council gave preliminary approval this week to a temporary ordinance amendment that would allow cab companies licensed in the city where their headquarters are located to drive customers from one Westbrook location to another.

Currently, the city requires cab companies to have a Westbrook license in order to pick up customers in Westbrook and drop them off somewhere else in Westbrook. The rule has barred Portland cab companies from doing what city officials have referred to as Westbrook-to-Westbrook runs.

Since the City Council voted last month not to renew Norma Bridges’ license to run Westbrook Taxi – the only cab licensed by the city – residents haven’t been able to get cab rides around town. The City Council denied the license because the company was operating with drivers who were not licensed in Westbrook and with cabs that had failed city inspections.

City Administrator Jerre Bryant said City Hall has “received a number of calls” from both residents and business owners, whose customers use taxis to get to their stores, about getting taxi service back in the city as soon as possible.

“Time is a little bit of the essence here,” Bryant said at a meeting Monday, where the City Council unanimously gave preliminary approval to the ordinance change and scheduled a special meeting for this Monday in order to hold a public hearing and vote on final approval of the amendment.

In order to close a loophole that would allow Westbrook Taxi to operate in the city if the business were to relocate to Portland, where it does have a license, City Solicitor Bill Dale recommended adding a clause to the ordinance to prohibit any cab company “that relocates its headquarters solely for the purpose of circumventing this ordinance” from operating in Westbrook.

Westbrook Taxi, however, will still be able to either pick up or drop off customers in Westbrook, as long as the other end of their trip is in another municipality.

The ordinance amendment is only valid through the end of the year, but councilors may elect to remove the temporary ordinance amendment earlier than that, if a new cab company begins operating in the city.

Larry Jalbert, a former Westbrook Taxi driver, got one step closer to starting his own company at Monday’s meeting when he was approved for a license in Westbrook. After an executive session, Edward and Cynthia Dame, who were also applying for a license, elected to remove their application.

Jalbert also applied to receive a revolving loan from the city in order to start his business. However, councilors decided his application did not meet the requirements for the loan. Jalbert said he would start looking for an investor instead.

The public hearing and final vote on the temporary ordinance amendment will be held at 7 p.m. Monday in Room 114 at Westbrook High School.