INDUSTRY IN REVIEW

By Don McCurdy

Meters looming for DC Taxis

The fate of DC taxicab's zone system should be decided by the time this article is printed. What exactly is the issue with meters? Well it could be that cities whose taxicabs have meters traditionally start the meter at an unreasonably low rate.

Anyone who has been around the industry knows that short trips are money losers for the drivers. Drivers often wait in zones or on stands for extended periods only to get a $3 or $4 fare. Hardly a desirable situation for a business to be saddled with having to graciously accept customers that they know will cause them to lose money.

The advantage the Washington, DC drivers have had over the years is starting with a $5 minimum. While DC is 24th in population it ranks 49th in land area of major US cities. That puts a DC taxicab driver in the position of dealing with a lot of short trips. Take away the $5 minimum and you have the potential of costing drivers a substantial portion of their income. That's a lot to be upset about.

It has long been my opinion that no trip should be less than $5, ever. What other industry delivers an operator and a machine to your location for $5? None jumps to mind. Perhaps, introducing the fare structure of the meter system ahead of installing meters may calm drivers concerns, providing you're not asking them to suck it up and start at $2 like a lot of cities.

Where's it going?

The New York City chapter of the Taxi Workers Alliance scheduled another strike for October 22 (a week after this article was written). The one day strike begs the question: Besides angering the riders what is the strike designed to accomplish?

Bloomberg can't back off the GPS/Credit Card equipment at this point, he'd never live it down. He doesn't have anything to lose so what does the TWA hope to gain? I've been told that baseball managers argue with the umpire in hopes of getting the next call to go their way. However, I doubt the TWA is looking for the next call.

The only way I see to get the city to reverse its policy on the new equipment is to strike until the city capitulates. What the TWA is doing now is merely inconveniencing the public. Do it (strike) for a day and that's all you'll achieve - inconvenience the public. Bring the city to a halt for a week and you will get more than media attention.

Well no wonder

What can safely be called the elite of the worldwide industry, the London Black Cab Drivers, have proven it again. The 14th annual Magical Taxi Tour from London to Paris saw 100 of the famous black cabs transporting children with various serious illnesses to Disneyland.

The convoy was reported to be 6 miles long at one point. The transportation was provided by the drivers, free of charge. London Black Cab Drivers are required to study an average of 2 to 4 years to obtain "the knowledge" and are widely known to be the best taxicab drivers anywhere. Their annual event shows they do more than whine about how difficult their business is. Good show!

Good government at work

You may remember the fiasco at Cleveland's Hopkins airport when the mayor's buddy was awarded exclusive rights for taxi service. Oops, did I say that out loud. I meant the mayor's alleged buddy. Well, they turned the entire thing over to the operator of the airport any they've got it all fixed up. Well, except that it's now cheaper to take an executive sedan from the airport than a taxicab.

Oops. It kind of reminds me of the time Washington DC was going to make a bunch of tax revenue by adding a new tax on gasoline. Everybody bought their gas elsewhere. The only solution is to raise the fees the executive sedans and limousines pay. The fee would have to be sufficiently high so that the taxis are given an equitable playing field.

It has long been my contention that airport managers viewed taxicabs as a necessary evil and this underscores that belief. As a recovering business traveler I can attest that taxicabs are what make airports a viable means of travel.

As lines for screening get longer and ground transportation prices skyrocket it increases the distance I am willing to drive to conduct business as opposed to public transportation, especially, airplanes. Perhaps, this is a move on the part of the airport authority to decrease the lines for screening. Perhaps, not. One thing for sure, it will decrease the number of riders waiting for a taxicab at Hopkins.

Say it ain't so!

According to recent reports TaxiTech is in the tank. According to my sources letters have already gone out to installers that TaxiTech has 30 days to get their act together. The company has not responded to inquiries so the severity of the situation is unknown at this point.

The Taxi Workers Alliance of New York is reported to have taken the opportunity to slam the TLC for not doing their job "awarding contracts", but my understanding is that the TLC didn't award the contracts, they only approved the system. But let's not let the facts get in the way of an opportunity to blow smoke up the TLC's dress.

Speaking of GPS

A recent taxicab fire filled the Manhattan skies with smoke. While the cause of the fire is officially unknown TWA drivers believe it was caused by wire burning because of, wait for it..., the GPS system.

Of course it was. Who didn't know that. There was even a little face time on the news for subscribers to this theory. The real question is: How did the evil empire, formerly known as the TLC, keep the fire department from reporting the GPS as the obvious cause of the fire? It seems to me that there is more misinformation about the GPS/Credit Card system than there is information.

My sources indicate that not only is the system fused separately but that it draws a minor amount of power compared to other devices already in the vehicle. Further, if the screen, GPS receiver or credit card machine goes down it has no effect on the meter.

The system simply reads the data stream from the meter, it doesn't control it. But that's not important. What's important is that even if it's misinformation, if it furthers your cause it's good. From that perspective I think a full investigation of which members of the TLC have stock in fire extinguisher companies is in order.

—dmc

© 2015 TLC Magazine Online, Inc.