Westbrook residents who rely on taxi service finally have a way to get around town again.

The Westbrook City Council unanimously approved a temporary ordinance amendment Monday that allows 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.

A new cab company still hasn’t started up in the city since councilors voted last month not to renew Norma Bridges’ license to run Westbrook Taxi – the only company that had a Westbrook license – because the company was operating with drivers who were not licensed in Westbrook and with cabs that had failed city inspections.

However, cab companies from surrounding towns can now service Westbrook residents who want to get around in Westbrook – a service people in the city had been without.

Westbrook Taxi can 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.

City Clerk Lynda Adams said last month that cab companies from Portland and South Portland are not allowed to charge an extra fee to pick up people in Westbrook, which residents had reported was happening.

City Administrator Jerre Bryant said last week that staff from Westbrook, Portland and South Portland are working together to regionalize the regulation of cab companies.

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.

Councilors passed the ordinance amendment 6-0 Monday without discussion. Councilor Drew Gattine was absent from the meeting.