Poorly written Taxi Cab ordinance

I will start by saying that there are many GOOD things in the new vehicles for hire ordinance that was passed on Tuesday (Item#39):

• Background checks (I actually think there should be drug tests after seeing a cabbie tug on a number last summer while sitting in a parking lot downtown).

• Sealing meters & vehicle inspections (this is great for public safety and consumer protection)

• Taking the shortest route and posting the rates

• Proper permits and licensing

YES! These things needed to be done. Now to the bad parts of the ordinance;

• Eliminating the fuel surcharge (this makes cab company owners suck up the loss when gas prices fluctuate).

• Fare limitations and regulation (while many of the regulations I mentioned above are good, they are going to cost cab companies money and profit loss. Since they are listing the rates, they should be able to charge what they want, with minimal limitations. Not only will it help them recover the regulation losses, it will create healthy competition, which helps lower rates).

• Permanent signage (this is silly on many levels. Some cab companies use their vehicles for personal use, why should they have to do this? I think magnetic signs when they are in service is fine).

Staggers said it best, service will only get worse and our options will be limited. It amazes me that while we are arguing about better public transit in this city we would regulate cab companies out of business.

I think this ordinance will need a major overhaul in a couple of years because taxi service will become less convenient and frequent. While it will be cheaper to ride in a cab, you may have trouble getting one, and your wait times will go up. I also see a possibility of a taxi ‘black market’ being created. The internet is a strange beast, and I see people looking into running non-permitted taxi services during the peak times on the weekend advertising on the internet.

Time will tell if the new changes will work. My guess is they will not.