Battle brewing between Seattle taxicab and for-hire drivers
SEATTLE -- A Thursday showdown at Seattle City Hall pitted taxicab drivers against drivers for hire.
Taxicab drivers say the for-hire drivers are illegally cutting into their business, and on Thursday the city launched a new committee to look at the rules and regulations that govern the taxi industry.
Many in Seattle don't even realize there's a difference between taxicabs and for-hire cars.
For-hire cars must have a two-tone paint scheme, charge a flat rate with no meters and must be prearranged. Taxicabs have to have top lights and meters and customers can hale them from the street.
The problem, according to some taxi drivers, is that the for-hire drivers routinely break the rules.
"They are illegally taking our business and the city is not doing anything about it," said taxi driver Aman Ahsan.
For-hire drivers say they feel the tension between the two groups.
"When we drive around they yell at us," said for-hire driver Gizaw Refu. "They honk at us, they take our picture, something like that. They look at us like illegal business"
The fight spilled over into City Hall on Thursday, as angry taxi drivers complained to a City Council sub-committee. The taxi drivers say the for-hire drivers are rarely punished for breaking the rules.
"There has been a flood of unregulated, unmarked cars painted to look like tax cabs," said Chris VanDyk of Yellow Cab.
VanDyk said in addition to their paint jobs, the for-hire drivers often pick up customers for unscheduled rides, which isn't allowed.
Ahsan, who's been driving a taxi for 20 years in Seattle, said he's fed up.
"Everything has gotten worse," he said. "Everything has gone against taxi cab drivers. Nothing has gone in favor of us."
For-hire drivers disagree, saying they pay all the same fees but have to follow rules that make it more difficult for them to earn a living.
"Cruising is not allowed. Stopping is not allowed. We are not helicopter. How can we pick up customer?" Gizaw said.
Thursday's meeting was just the first step in the process, and the committee has not yet looked at any proposals on the issue.
Taxicab drivers say the for-hire drivers are illegally cutting into their business, and on Thursday the city launched a new committee to look at the rules and regulations that govern the taxi industry.
Many in Seattle don't even realize there's a difference between taxicabs and for-hire cars.
For-hire cars must have a two-tone paint scheme, charge a flat rate with no meters and must be prearranged. Taxicabs have to have top lights and meters and customers can hale them from the street.
The problem, according to some taxi drivers, is that the for-hire drivers routinely break the rules.
"They are illegally taking our business and the city is not doing anything about it," said taxi driver Aman Ahsan.
For-hire drivers say they feel the tension between the two groups.
"When we drive around they yell at us," said for-hire driver Gizaw Refu. "They honk at us, they take our picture, something like that. They look at us like illegal business"
The fight spilled over into City Hall on Thursday, as angry taxi drivers complained to a City Council sub-committee. The taxi drivers say the for-hire drivers are rarely punished for breaking the rules.
"There has been a flood of unregulated, unmarked cars painted to look like tax cabs," said Chris VanDyk of Yellow Cab.
VanDyk said in addition to their paint jobs, the for-hire drivers often pick up customers for unscheduled rides, which isn't allowed.
Ahsan, who's been driving a taxi for 20 years in Seattle, said he's fed up.
"Everything has gotten worse," he said. "Everything has gone against taxi cab drivers. Nothing has gone in favor of us."
For-hire drivers disagree, saying they pay all the same fees but have to follow rules that make it more difficult for them to earn a living.
"Cruising is not allowed. Stopping is not allowed. We are not helicopter. How can we pick up customer?" Gizaw said.
Thursday's meeting was just the first step in the process, and the committee has not yet looked at any proposals on the issue.
CIT OF SEATTLE NEED TO CHANGE THE CAB REGULATION, TO ME, ALL CABS IN THE CITY MUST Â READ THEMETER TO THEIRÂ COSTUMERS TO PROTECT OVER CHARGEÂ AND SHOULD LIVE UP TO PEOPLE WHO TO HALE OR NOT....
"...for-hire drivers are illegally cutting into..."Â A voluntary agreement to provide a ride could only be illegal if the government had created a monopoly to make it so. Government regulation goes hand in hand with price control and government selected winners and losers. The public has no choice when government steps in to, "protect it"
Boo hoo. I don't really care. Taxi's are horrible. They drive like maniacs and they treat people like jerks.Â
Screw those Tax Cab Drivers. I worked for a tour company for years in downtown Seattle and decided to take my mother and brother out (at my job) When the tour was over we hailed a cab from Alaskan Way (the waterfront) and instructed the driver to take us to South Lake Union (which is about a 7-10 minute ride). All three of us are from Washington and were no strangers to downtown Seattle. This taxi-cab driver started to make his way through downtown meandering through side-roads and started driving us up to Capital Hill. We all looked at each other kinda surprised and told the guy he was going the wrong way, he said he knew where he was going-he wasn't too happy with women telling him this. Little did he know, we KNEW where we were and told him to promptly get back on track and take us to Westlake Ave on Lake Union. These guys take advantage of tourists and we weren't even tourists (but he thought we were). To make a long story short, he ran up the meter, had GPS but didn't use it and still charged us for the longer route. I am normally a generous tipper but this punk didn't a dime.Â
Cry me a river. Poor service from yellow and orange finally pissed me off so bad that I started paying a premium for town cars. You want your business back? Start offering some value and showing up when called. I can't count the number of times I've been told 15 minutes and no cab shows up at all after a hour. Your potential customers can't depend on your services... You will lose them to businesses they can depend on.
Why is the taxi cab Taliban alleging that OTHERS break the rules? They're the worst drivers in the city.
Those for hire clown cars are popping up everywhere, As a professional driver with with 20 years experience at a reputable chauffered transportation company, this is one time i will actually side with the cabbies.As far as I know the for hire cars are just like the "rogue" for hire town cars, flying under the radar (no background checks or certification needed here folks) They know that the regulations are rarely enforced, and will continue to sully the image of the industry until something is actually done about.The next time you think you're getting a great deal,think more about why you are getting it.
@stringbeanYeah, you're a class guy but the others are clowns. Hacks are hacks - indifferent, inattentive, disrespectful road hogs that screw up traffic everywhere, providing a necessary service but whose greed and near sexual obsession with their cell phones makes them provide that service with all the civility and finesse of a jackhammer.
 It's a service for which there are no entry barriers other than repressive regulation ostensibly in place to protect passengers but in reality are just laws that are a product of political influence ensuring monopoly status.
@wysoumible @stringbean Yeah, like our traffic problems are caused by the for hire drivers.  The only "hacks" here are the cabbies. Oh they love to talk about laws when it benefits them. They sure don't like to follow them though. Running red lights, almost running over pedestrians, speeding, illegal turns, driving wrong way down a one way street, stopping in middle of street to pick up or drop off.Â
Take a look in the mirror before you find fault with others.Â
@stringbean I only take cabs. After talking to numerous cab drivers over the years I learned of the strict rules you have to follow to maintain your cab license (or whatever the proper term is).  Cab driver's have to pay a steep insurance that is designed to protect the passengers, if the cab you get into has an accident you are completely covered in every way. Cab driver's are also only allowed to have 'X' amount of accidents (their fault or not) and tickets. From what I have been told (hear-say) from most cab drivers is that some of these rogue drivers are not properly insured and were once cab drivers that lost their cab licenses due to too many accidents of tickets. Also I have had, in my personal experience, a town-car guy take me to my apartment and then double the price we agreed upon when I first got in the cab. I told him to take what we agreed upon of else I won't pay and then report him. I respect cab drivers and those who are really trying to run their business correctly, we are all trying to make a living right? Some of us do it the right way at least....
I happily pay more for a town car service when I go to the airport. They show up on time, the cars are clean and comfortable, it's a flat rate, they speak English, they know how to drive without scaring the living day lights out of me and are always very prompt at the return trip airport pickup. I never use cabs in Seattle. As a pedestrian in downtown Seattle I can't count the number of times they have blown through crosswalks or red lights nearly taking me out. I'll stick with the town car service.
Why didn't they simply take their issue to the union? ........Oh, thats right, they didnt need a union anymore because they outlived their usefulness.
You know T-Bone nobody really cares what your opinion is, give it a rest.
I agree Thugs (unions)Â arent useful.
@T_BONE_WALKERÂ Do you mean taxis or unions are no longer useful?
The taxi business/racket , city licensing, all that are ages old with turf wars, cronyism, and lots of complaining. I just had to cross an intersection around a taxi helping itself to stop in the crosswalk and text while waiting for his next green light.  For some people a flat rate trip tot he airport beats a $120 taxi ride from where they live. Is that hard to figure out? The tow truck industry is another arena similarly full of whiners and not awesome drivers with a few really sketch characters thrown in. The city should sort this out and everyone is going to have to eventually deal with a changing world.Â
please say this doesn't affect @Uber_SEA ! â@komonews: Battle brewing between Seattle taxicab and for-hire drivers komonews.com\/news\/local\/Batâ¦WIyâ
Competition is good for everyone
This comment has been deleted
@yourbuddy Thank you for your intelligent and thoughtful response. I will take it under consideration.
@Hagar @yourbuddy You my friend are OK ;)
It's actually really hard to get a Taxi on a weekend night in Seattle. Â There's need for more taxis therefore the for-hire drivers are filling the void.
Medallion rules only limit competition and cause increasing in pricing when demand increases. Maybe it is time to get rid of the Medallion rules?
The problem with the city and Taxi cabs is that the only ones that can license a new driver are the ones that own the current medallions. There are like three companies that own medallions and they "rent" them to the drivers. The current cost set by the owners is in the millions for a "new" medallion. There is no one that can afford to get in to the taxi business in Seattle. That is why there are the town cars and âfor-hireâ cars running out there. The foxes are watching the hen house and the people of Seattle are the hens...
@bustedupredneck You nail the root of the problem. And in the old days local politicians were most certainly skimming off the pricey licensing.Â
I have my own car. The mayor hates me.Â
Oh and btw KOMO, I need a part-time job and you guys apparently need an editor. The "for-fire cars" spelling mistake is repeated twice. I'd like you to go back over my comments and see how many times I have caught you on your editing mistakes. Don't you know the old adage of don't rely on spell check alone??
@cm257n7 What do spell-check and wannabe editors say about using two question marks at the end of a sentence?
Is this the opening to a joke?
@cm257n7 Yes, and they also think taxicabs are "haled." Oy.
Sigh. Isn't this like Microsoft and Apple? Starbucks and Tully's? Ford and Chevy? OR EVERY OTHER COMPETITIVE BUSINESS OUT THERE???? Get your crap together, make your cabs look nicer and smell nicer and more people would want to use your service!!!
I use Uber. Dirty whiny cabbies can suck it.