INDUSTRY IN REVIEW

By Don McCurdy

They what?

Reports are that the city of Washington DC is enforcing their new ordinance. Yes, it’s true. After years of extending deadlines the city has finally said it’s time. Well, the drivers are not only upset, they’ve reportedly teamed up with the Teamsters Union. That would explain the recent crowd at the Taxi Commission meeting which was all but a riot and ended early.

For years the city has succumbed to the drivers complaints and either postponed their mandates or watered them down. No small wonder the drivers are freaked out. The city is starting to act like they’re actually regulating the industry.

Speaking of which . . .

Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans recently vetoed a proposal passed by the city council to extend the deadline requiring all taxicabs to be less than seven years old. Despite a good showing of taxicab drivers, the mayor vetoed the proposal without having to call in riot police.

The interesting quote of the day was by Malachi Hull, director of the Taxi and For Hire Bureau. He said that 75 percent of the city's more than 1,600 cabs were already in compliance with the new regulations. "You'd be putting them at a competitive disadvantage if you roll back or delay any of the reforms," he said. You rarely see a regulator with a good understanding of the facts. There will always be those who drag their feet on any and all regulations.

Nothing to see . . .

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings delivered a report that basically said that the city did nothing wrong in targeting Uber drivers, although reports are that all charges have been dropped against the Uber drivers. I wonder what that means? All this comes with a report that Yellow Cab’s self-insurance does not meet the city’s criteria for insurance and hasn’t for years. Oops. Now nobody is claiming that there’s a connection between what appears to be special treatment toward Yellow Cab and the special treatment Uber is receiving, but it would appear that they have figured out a way to make Uber untouchable.

Yellow Cab has a history of “influencing” things in Dallas as reported widely in Dallas and here in this column. Their attack on Uber was so uncharacteristic that it reeks of insider influence even if there is none, which is certainly not my claim. Appears to be just another on the list of reasons politicians should not regulate business. Being able to make political donations shouldn’t allow you to gain a competitive advantage, but it does.

Speaking of which . . .

Leaving office may be the most active taxicab regulating politician in the history of taxicabs, Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Replacing Bloomy is a totally different character with a totally different philosophy, Bill de Blasio. De Blasio was an outspoken critic of the outer borough green taxi program and participated in the lawsuit against it. So what does the future hold for the taxicab industry under the new mayor? Who knows. Many times in the past I’ve listened to politicians talk about being for the “little guy,” but taxicab drivers don’t seem to be little enough to gain attention. Time will tell. He certainly can’t be more intrusive that Emperor Bloomberg. I’ll miss you Mikey, you were good for a story almost every month.

If you have any comments regarding this or any of my articles please feel free to contact me at dmc@mcacres.com. —dmc

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