North Adams Committee Hears Taxi Rate Complaints
 Residents turned out to debate taxi rates at Monday's Public Safety Committee hearing. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Public Safety Committee has agreed to revisit taxi rates and discuss the use of meters after hearing from numerous residents — and getting an errant cab service to comply with the current fares.
The City Council raised the rates $2 per zone back in April at the recommendation of the Public Safety Committee. At the time, there was only one cab company left in the city after the abrupt closure of American Cab.
But complaints about the rate hike surfaced last week after the committee called Michael McMillian, proprietor of City Cab, on the carpet for allegations of smoking in the cabs (a state offense), using unlicensed drivers and taxis, and undercharging the city's set cab fares.
While the committee was satisfied McMillian was making progress on some of the issues, his admittance of undercharging left the committee mulling its options.
More than 30 people attended a hearing last week on the matter; nearly two dozen showed up for Monday's continuation.
But Chairman Keith Bona cautioned that he would accept limited comments on the rates, preferring to hold off for another meeting to discuss whether to amend them.
"We do need to consider how we proceed when we know Mr. McMillian is willingly not accepting the rates and is not charging them," he said.
McMillian, who started out a few months ago with one cab, now has two and is trying for a third, argued the authority of the committee to set any rates.
"You can't tell any other business what to charge, so why can you tell me?" he asked the board.
"I'm not BRTA. If anything, I'm considered a private contractor ... I'm not government funded — I'm funded by the public and myself."
Bona pointed out the city's ordinances place control of rates under the City Council, an opinion confirmed by the city solicitor. Any recommendations made by the committee would have to be approved by the full council.
The authority to regulate cabs and fares falls under Chapter 23, Article 1, that states: "All operators and drivers of taxicabs licensed under the provisions of this article shall be subject, in addition to the provisions of this article, to such further rules, orders and regulations, including passenger fares as may from time to time be promulgated by the City Council."
Other nearby cities have set rates, said Bona.
"This is not uncommon to North Adams ... It's common across the country, probably common across the Northeast," he said. "I don't know why and how it started."
McMillian grudgingly agreed to charge the posted fares. He also said the unlicensed driver was now in compliance and the third cab was being used as a personal vehicle by a family member. His application to the Zoning Board to modify his permit has been postponed to next week after he was informed the expansion of his business would no longer fall under a "home occupation."
Taxi regulations date back 80 or 90 years, ostensibly to protect drivers from unfair labor practices and patrons from fee gouging. Residents at Monday's meeting, however, said the regulations were preventing them from finding a cheaper alternative in a region known for its dearth of public transportation.
A lot of people live on fixed incomes, said Colleen Bergerson, who like many spoke in support of McMillian. "I can get the bus to Walmart but I need a taxi to get back. Eight bucks from Walmart to West Main is ridiculous."
One woman asked how the committee could recommend a rate hike when no one had attended the April hearing. Committee member Kate Merrigan pointed out the meeting had been publicly posted and that she had done what she could to spread the word.
Another man claimed customers of the other cab company had been charged $59 for a ride within the city; others continued to argue the city had no right to regulate fares.
"Anytime the rates have been changed it's been by request of the taxi company," Bona said. "If they didn't come and ask to raise the rates, the rates would probably never be changed."
Tunnel City Taxi had approached the panel in the spring about raising fees because it was operating at a loss. McMillian agreed that rates should go up, but thought the hike too sharp — while admitting he was considering raising his own fares this month.
Merrigan asked McMillian if she called him Monday night, would he be charging the rate in the book or would he be charging a different rate?
"It depends on what the future holds," he responded. "If you're going to assure me that we'll revisit this at some point, then yeah, I'll go by rate you've got down. But if you think I'm going to just sit back and tell all the people that have ridden with me this the way it's got to be, you're going to have a lot more people at the next meeting."
Tags: public safety, taxi, taxi fares,
