What About an Employee Owned and Operated Cab Company?

Dear Editor,
    I read in the April 28 “Beside the Point” [News] about controversy regarding the taxi cab permits of Roy's Taxis, and whether to give its permits to Yellow Cab Inc. (forming a more expensive monopoly) or give them to a new franchise.
    This reminded me of Union Cab of Madison, Wis. (www.unioncab.com). Union Cab is employee owned and operated and has been so successfully since 1979. Taxi companies work well as employee-owned cooperatives, because cab drivers often already own most of the capital (i.e., the cabs). It might be an interesting direction for the city to explore, given how well it would sync up with Austin's independent spirit. The city might consider supporting a start-up employee-owned firm with some basic small-business loans or grants, if cab drivers are interested. Worker ownership and management can be a wonderful way to put a little more dignity into the daily grind. It also helps insure that the business stays local and focused on the needs of the community, not the needs of faraway corporate managers and stockholders.