Antone's Nightclub
City Council Condemns Taxi Drivers to Lousy Deal
RECEIVED Thu., April 29, 2010
Dear Editor,
Council Member Randi Shade showed her favorite color was yellow when she rejected the city staff recommendation for a two-year renewal and steered the way to give taxi franchises to Yellow Cab and Austin Cab for the next five years ["The Daily Hustle: April 23," Newsdesk blog]. The entire council, with the exception of Bill Spelman, caved under pressure from the Chamber of Commerce and franchise lobbyists to ignore advice from their legal counsel and effectively override a resolution council passed last month to evaluate the taxi ordinance and its impact on driver working conditions and low pay. Council action condemns taxi drivers to a virtual share-cropping system and gives a near monopoly on cab permits to Yellow Cab, which pays the city a paltry $400 a year per permit and releases permits to drivers for $1,200 a month. With the franchise grant for 455 permits, Yellow Cab currently earns approximately $6.8 million annually from the city-owned property, and the city collects only $182,000 a year. Yellow Cab has already announced plans to up the fees charged to drivers. Many taxi drivers work 70 to 80 hours a week trying to stay out of the red. A Yellow Cab owner disclosed at a recent Urban Transportation Commission meeting that he paid $5 million – but not to the city – to obtain extra permits when Roy’s Cab folded. When will council treat small-business people equitably, stop this closed-door giveaway of city-owned property, and give drivers mobile permits?
Council Member Randi Shade showed her favorite color was yellow when she rejected the city staff recommendation for a two-year renewal and steered the way to give taxi franchises to Yellow Cab and Austin Cab for the next five years ["The Daily Hustle: April 23," Newsdesk blog]. The entire council, with the exception of Bill Spelman, caved under pressure from the Chamber of Commerce and franchise lobbyists to ignore advice from their legal counsel and effectively override a resolution council passed last month to evaluate the taxi ordinance and its impact on driver working conditions and low pay. Council action condemns taxi drivers to a virtual share-cropping system and gives a near monopoly on cab permits to Yellow Cab, which pays the city a paltry $400 a year per permit and releases permits to drivers for $1,200 a month. With the franchise grant for 455 permits, Yellow Cab currently earns approximately $6.8 million annually from the city-owned property, and the city collects only $182,000 a year. Yellow Cab has already announced plans to up the fees charged to drivers. Many taxi drivers work 70 to 80 hours a week trying to stay out of the red. A Yellow Cab owner disclosed at a recent Urban Transportation Commission meeting that he paid $5 million – but not to the city – to obtain extra permits when Roy’s Cab folded. When will council treat small-business people equitably, stop this closed-door giveaway of city-owned property, and give drivers mobile permits?
Ann Darbonne
and the Board of Directors of the Taxi Drivers Association of Austin
and the Board of Directors of the Taxi Drivers Association of Austin