INDUSTRY IN REVIEW

By Don McCurdy

Next contestants please.

According to various news reports, Pennsylvania's chief taxi inspector for the Philadelphia area has been convicted of taking bribes. To make matters worse, four of his subordinates have also copped a plea to taking bribes. Which brings us to the question of who's watching the fox that's watchin the hen house?

The Philadelphia Inquirer
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
March 16, 2007

Cab inspector found guilty of extortion

By John Shiffman • Inquirer Staff Writer

A federal jury yesterday convicted the former chief taxicab inspector in Philadelphia of extortion and racketeering charges, finding that he took bribes from shady hacks and corrupt cab- company owners.

Sant R. Harrison took envelopes stuffed with cash - $100, $200, $500 - that taxicab owners laid on his office desk, government witnesses testified at trial.

The drivers and cab owners paid the bribes to fix tickets, fake inspections and help drivers who couldn't read English pass a written exam, prosecutors Judy Goldstein Smith and Michael J. Bresnick told jurors.

Jurors, who were shown FBI surveillance video of payoffs, deliberated for 90 minutes yesterday before returning guilty verdicts on all 13 counts.

Most jurisdictions have no idea if their edicts are being carried out unless the people regulating the industry tell them. Campaign contributions are at least a little less obvious than straight up bribes, but you have to be careful that you back the right candidates.

Sometimes, if the race is close, you have to "donate" to two candidates. Larger cities can get quite expensive. That's ok though, if it keeps competitors out it's a good investment.

The federal prosecutor, Judy Goldstein Smith, was quoted in an article as stating that the owners enjoyed the corrupt system. Duh. Of course they did. The owners could keep a steady supply of drivers, regardless of the level of pay, and whatever kind of cars they wanted on the street. Who cares if they spoke English or knew where they were.

I have always thought that there was a certain honesty in bribes and hookers. Here's what you want, here's what it costs. Pretty simple, pretty direct. It's certainly more direct than politicians saying asinine things like "requiring them to speak English is racist" because they're afraid of alienating a voting block or recommending some simplistic "passenger's bill of rights" nonsense that get's them on the news. To solve a problem you have to know you have a problem and be willing to solve it.

Watch it, that thing's loaded!

Colorado is considering some form of open entry to spur competition and improve service. Some of the group is pointing up "deregulation" woes encountered by other jurisdictions and urging caution. Well, not really caution, more like keeping the status quo. I think the answer is considerably more simple than all of the "groundbreaking" legislation being proposed.

The new law, House Bill 1114, is reported to offer new applicants an opportunity to pay the state $10,000 for the initial application and $5,000 for each year's renewal. The money is to be used to provide non-emergency transportation for needy citizens. This might be the first time the poor, the cab drivers, will be asked to directly subsidize the poor.

How interesting. I can't help but wonder if possibly the legislature might extend the $10,000 license to doctors to help provide medical care for the needy? Perhaps they could help the state residents pay their share of the prescription drug program with a $10,000 application fee for pharmacists.

All that aside, who's enforcing the current law? One of the many articles I read on this situation said that the state requires the company to respond in less than 45 minutes. The company "could" be fined if the cab doesn't show up in 45 minutes. I guarantee you that if you start fining companies for failure to provide prompt service they will get a cab there, independent contractors or not. Let's not leave out the driver. Fine them too. Most, if not all, of the companies in Denver utilize computer dispatch with GPS capability. They can tell you if the driver actually went on the trip or not. It's actually fairly simple, the company just has to be motivated.

A $500 fine per company infraction would be inspirational enough. Drivers could be motivated for as little as $50 an infraction. The money could easily be used to fund the system, well, at least until the companies and drivers got their act together. You'd be amazed how fast they straighten up when someone's looking. As it is now the company gets their income from the driver and they are reluctant to get rid of a driver that pays. Let that driver become a liability and see how fast they get jettisoned into space.

I'm certainly a believer in some form of open entry, but if you think the system is broken now wait until you try some poorly thought out deregulation scheme. If you want to change the system, great, but take your time and think it through. Meanwhile you can enforce the laws you have.

If at first you don't succeed.

The cab driver, Robert Smiley, in West Palm Beach that was charged with murder over two years ago pled guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a four year sentence and time served. Time served already added up to over half the sentence since two separate juries failed to convict or acquit him of murder charges. No doubt the prosecutor in the case hailed it as a victory for justice. I sure wish I was convinced.

After spending 8 years driving a taxicab and 13 years managing taxicab companies I can tell you that things are never quite as straightforward as the prosecutor might think. I guess Smiley just did the math and decided that if he took the deal he would get out sooner than if there were a few dozen more hung juries.

The prosecutor got to go home to his family every night, I wonder if he'd have been so anxious to try the case again if he had the cell next to Smiley until it was resolved?

New laws to catch rogue cabbies!

That's the headline from the Herald Sun in Melbourne, Australia. It isn't until the last bit of the article that they reveal that there are "12 uniformed officers" responsible for 4500 taxis and 13,000 drivers. Good luck boys. If writing a few more laws would fix the industry it would have been fixed a long time ago. Without a cohesive plan of action and sufficient staff the issues you have now will be the same as the ones you have 10 years from now.

—dmc

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