RNC taxi reciprocity may lead to new metro system

A plan to allow taxicabs from some cities to pick up fares in others during the Republican National Convention could be a step toward a metrowide cab system.

The Minneapolis City Council on Friday approved an ordinance that will allow cabs licensed by other cities to pick up fares in Minneapolis during this summer's convention and other designated special events. St. Paul is expected to adopt a nearly identical ordinance later this month, and Bloomington already has such reciprocity on the books.

Those laws are intended to allow cabs licensed in the three cities -- and at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport -- to flood whichever area needs mass cab service during the convention. Ordinarily, a cab licensed in one jurisdiction can drop off passengers in another, but can't pick up a fare there.

"It's never made sense," said Minneapolis Council Member Gary Schiff, who spearheaded the reciprocity ordinance. He called it a first step toward creation of a regional cab system.

Advocates say such a system could mean drivers could earn fares in both directions, and riders would have a greater number of cabs from which to choose. They say it makes more sense with gas prices skyrocketing.

Minneapolis has 415 cabs and will add 45 a year until 2011, when it will have no cap. But fewer than 10 percent are licensed to pick up fares in other cities, licensing officials said. Bloomington has about 260 cabs, said Doug Junker, Bloomington cab license examiner, while St. Paul has 214.

Airport officials, with about 600 cabs, say they're willing to help meet convention demand in the cities but won't allow cabs from the cities to pick up at the airport. That's because the airport fleet will be adequate to handle demand, said airport official Arlie Johnson.

Regulators from Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bloomington are talking of meeting after the convention to assess reciprocity and explore a metrowide system, according to Grant Wilson, a Minneapolis licensing manager.

"I still think it makes good sense," said Bob Kessler, St. Paul's director of safety and inspections. Several years of discussion hit a roadblock due to mayoral opposition about five years ago in St. Paul, he said. Discussion of temporary reciprocity fostered revival of those discussions, said Junker.

A regional system could range from a single entity handling cab licensing, to having cities setting common regulations, to dividing up the regulatory tasks of inspections, licensing and driver training.

The cab system now is an amalgam of regulations and companies. Some cab companies merely offer dispatch, bookkeeping and other services to driver-owners, while others also own cabs and lease them to drivers. Some cabs are licensed to pick up fares only in one city, but others are licensed in up to three places.

But some cab officials are concerned about reciprocity. "I think it's a step backwards," said Waleed Sonbol, general manager for Blue and White and ABC taxi firms.

Sombol said the ordinance should set a threshold, such as the percentage of hotel rooms booked before reciprocity could be invoked after the convention to avoid unnecessarily importing cabs. He also said cabs licensed elsewhere that are allowed to serve Minneapolis under reciprocity should be held to city standards. For example, Minneapolis requires 10 percent of a fleet be equipped to handle wheelchairs. It also was a leader in adopting fuel efficiency standards requiring that over 10 years all city-licensed cabs be rated at fuel economy of at least 23 miles per gallon in city traffic.

But Sombol said his companies are encouraging drivers to buy a reciprocity decal "to expand their options."

Steve Pint, president and chief executive of Airport Taxi, with cabs licensed in all four jurisdictions, said reciprocity is a way to handle special events, but a more permanent regional system requires more scrutiny.

The upside, he said, is that the cost and red tape of meeting the regulations of multiple jurisdictions could be reduced.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438