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Winston-Salem Urges Upgrades If Taxis Get Higher Fare

Posted on: Wednesday, 12 October 2005, 18:00 CDT

By Bertrand M. Gutierrez, Winston-Salem Journal, N.C.

Oct. 12--If the city grants cab companies a fare increase, the companies should use some of the money they make to improve their image and services, city council members say.

Several owners of cab companies attended a public meeting of the city council's finance committee Monday to ask for a fare increase. One cab-company owner opposed the proposed increase.

As they discussed changing the rate, some committee members said that cab companies should be aware of the impression they make on people visiting the city.

"As we move toward tourism, I'd like to see cabs improve their image. I get behind some cabs, and I don't see how they run," said Wanda Merschel, the chairwoman of the city council's finance committee.

"I hope you use some of this money for your image."

Committee members Vivian Burke and Nelson Malloy questioned the quality of service that the companies provide.

Malloy, who uses a wheelchair, said he had heard that people with disabilities were being turned away or charged extra fees.

The maximum rate charged by cabs in Winston-Salem has been the same since 1990, and it is the lowest in the region, compared with such cities as Greensboro, High Point, Durham and Raleigh.

With the increase in gas prices, cab drivers are leaving more money at the pump and taking less home, cab owners told the committee.

After reviewing rates other North Carolina cities charge, city transportation officials have proposed a 50 percent increase, from 20 cents to 30 cents, for every 1/7th of a mile, or $2.10 per mile.

Other charges would apply: $1.80 for the first one-seventh of a mile, $18 per hour for a cab driver's waiting time, an additional 10 cents per half-mile for locations within five miles of and outside the city limits. Also, a surcharge of 50 cents per trip between midnight and 6 a.m. has been proposed.

These are maximum allowable rates, officials said. In other words, competing cab companies could choose to offer lower rates.

Cab-company owners Herman Mazzeo and Taye Lott said that increasing rates would help pay for vehicle maintenance and improve service. They also said that a rate increase is needed to offset gas prices and insurance costs.

Coy Lee Willard, another cab-company owner, said that he opposed the increase and that raising rates would not lead to any improvements. Raising rates would force cab companies to renegotiate contracts with area hospitals and nursing homes, he said after the meeting.

"Those costs will have to be passed on to somebody else," he said.

The finance committee asked city managers to research the possible effect a rate change would have on elderly people, who often use cabs.

Committee members decided to revisit the issue at a later meeting.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Winston-Salem Journal, N.C.

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Source: Winston-Salem Journal

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