INDUSTRY IN REVIEW

By Don McCurdy

Does the GPS say where we are now?

Well, the big October strike is in the books and I still have the question, what did it accomplish? The city didn’t run to the bargaining table. As near as I can tell the only one claiming the strike was a success was the Taxi Workers Alliance.

Okay, let’s pretend it was a smashing success. Where are we now? GPS system installations continue unabated by the latest developments. I’d say, if anyone asked, that the two day strike proved something, but didn’t accomplish much. While Joe Average empathizes with the driver’s plight there’s not much Joe can do about it. Since Joe is the driver’s customer it would seem to me that all that happened was Joe was inconvenienced.

I can’t even say as much for the one day strike. It was a study in futility. Perhaps an orchestrated “flipping off” of the mayor and the TLC? Not only futility, but the weakness of the alliance was shown. I’ve never considered taxicab drivers to be stupid, especially since I was one for eight years. So it came as no surprise to me that the second strike didn’t have the impact the first strike did.

The majority of taxicab drivers I have known are realists. When the first strike didn’t cripple the city they realized that their goals were not going to be accomplished by striking. A wise man once told me “do what you’ve always done and you’ll get what you’ve always got”. Any charismatic leader can get a solid loyal following (Jim Jones jumps to mind), but to get the kind of following required to cripple a city the size of New York City is going to take some creative thinking, planning and action. So, to the TWA I suggest that you think hard about your next move, and don’t drink the Kool Aid.

Speaking of GPS

Well, what you didn’t read in the news, probably not news worthy, was that the big fire alleged to be caused by the GPS system turned out to be a faulty after market alternator according to NYC Fire Department investigators. I guess taxi operators should not have demanded an investigation, that way the fire could have been blamed on the GPS unit without those nasty, albeit honest, contradictions from the fire department.

Also in the news is the report claiming that information from the GPS system was used to locate Nic Munson’s (whoever he is) lost guitar. It seems that knowing where he was picked up and at what time was all that was needed. It looks like it’s GPS 2 - TWA (Transit Workers Alliance) zip so far, stay tuned for further scoring updates.

This is war!

The city of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada is having some issues with taxicabs. It seems that the city’s lax entry policy has begot numerous additions to the industry and not all of them are fielding safe vehicles. Oops. Pretty much anyone that’s ever been around the industry realizes that some level of reasonable regulation is required to keep everyone with a moped from opening their own taxicab company.

The city is organizing an ordinance to quell the “cab wars” currently raging in the city. This begs the question: "what is a reasonable method of entry into the industry?"

NYC and Chicago sell medallions for a pretty hefty fee, but the reality is that a dog won’t hunt in most places. So what’s a city to do? Well, I have some suggestions, of course. Be aware of the financial stability of companies applying for a license. Shoe string budgets beget poor maintenance and service. By the same token, don’t tie a company’s growth to the “health” of the industry.

Too many times weak companies are allowed to survive despite providing poor service” by limiting entry too much. Set service standards and enforce them. Too many times companies with poor equipment that provide no service to the community survive by sitting at the airport.

Their “occupation” of the airport stand forces companys' drivers who do service the community to dead head back to town to work. Establish a training class that is paid by the driver prior to licensing. You can work out the details of provisional licenses, but don’t let them get past two classes without attending. You set the curriculum. It doesn’t have to be “the knowledge” (Englands rigid test), but it needs to be of substance.

Require all drivers to speak the language of the land. If you want your city to enjoy the status as the home of the “cab ride from hell” just keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll keep getting what you’ve got.

Tell me you weren’t serious.

A recent article reported that an ordinance request for a 24% increase in fares was filed with the Chicago City Council by a “veteran driver”, George Kasp. 24%? Well, we can’t say that George is a piker, although we might be inclined to call him a dreamer.

How about something a little more realistic there George? How about just 50¢ on the drop? Yeah, it’s not much, but it sure goes in the gas tank better than nothing. That would have been right around 4%. Even the cheapskates on the city council couldn’t deny hard working drivers that token. Now you’ve got zip and the city council looks like the guardian of the gate to their constituents.

You been reading the strike propaganda George? Don’t feel bad, I had a $5 minimum thrown back in my face by the Austin City Council, but then the drivers thought it wasn’t enough. It never is.

Along with the idea of a $5 minimum I also had the thought that we could shave a quarter of a mile off the drop mileage every year as a cost of living allowance. Too forward thinking I suppose. Try to put yourself in the city council’s shoes. How would it have looked if they gave you a 24% raise without giving themselves a 24% raise? Why they might have been run out of office!

Ahhhh, that feels good!

Well, the Boston City Council has finally hit upon the idea that will straighten out the taxicab industry once and for all! While the proposal has been tried before and didn’t do squat, this time it’s a sure thing.

No, it’s not more spot checks by trained taxicab inspectors. No, it’s not increasing the frequency of inspections. No, of course, it’s not increased training or improved language skills. Nope, it’s my old favorite, a passenger bill of rights. Yes, it doesn’t accomplish anything, but it’s cheap.

We wouldn’t want to actually do anything. As a company manager I spot checked cabs regularly and inspected them monthly. Yes, it cost a lot of time and money, but we also had the best service and taxicabs in the city. Yes, yes, yes, you have a lot of cabs. I understand that, but once the drivers know you are looking, and will keep looking, they’ll take care of it themselves.

You want your constituents and visitors to have a good cab ride? Then ride in them yourself. I laughed out loud when I moved to a larger company and found out the staff wouldn’t even take their own cabs. They had to have a “special” driver because they couldn’t rely on their own service.

A passenger bill of rights is a lot like masturbation, it feels good but really doesn’t accomplish much. So Councilor Michael P. Ross, are you going to propose some real changes or are you going to….well we won’t get into that.

Everybody loves the mayor!

Mayor Adrian M Fenty, and his accomplices at the Taxicab Commission, have instituted meters in Washington DC. What? But wait there’s more. The meter will have a $4 dollar drop! Yep, someone finally brought the DC taxicab industry out of the stone age and is setting the trend instead of following the trend.

Anyone who knows anything about the taxicab industry will tell you that short trips are the bane of taxicab driver’s existence. Drivers don’t lose money on long trips, they lose money on short trips. Don’t believe that? Try picking up a little old lady at a grocery store. Not only do you load and unload her bags, but there’s the drive to the location as well.

On a slow day you may wait for a fare for an hour. Now put that hour wait, the drive to the location, loading the groceries, the 3 block trip and unloading the groceries and tell me the drop shouldn’t be a minimum of $5.

To those cheapskates wishing for fares to go down, how about you take a cut in pay when you go to work? The average driver works 6 or 7 twelve hour shifts a week and you want to take away their pay? Get serious.

If the government tried to freeze or cut your wages you’d be screaming bloody murder. If you think drivers are really raking it in maybe you should get a permit and hit the streets. I think you’ll be thinking different shortly. I say RIGHT ON MR. MAYOR! Keep up the good work. Maybe you could ask some of the local stores in the DC area to cut the prices of tissues. Everyone there seems to be crying about something.

—dmc

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