"Minneapolis airport cabbies may get break on fees"

Saturday, July 19, 2003

Airport cabbies may get break on fees
BY TONI COLEMAN
The Minneapolis (MN) Pioneer Press


The Metropolitan Airports Commission, which has made several financial
allowances to help airlines struggling in the aftermath of the 9/11
terrorist attacks, appears primed to do the same for cabdrivers who operate
out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Like the airlines, cabdrivers have seen a dramatic drop in business in the
wake of the recession and 9/11 — a 20.2 percent decrease in daily trips in
the first five months of this year compared with 2000, according to airport
staff. Drivers average three trips a day and wait hours in between fares.

"We are in the same situation as airlines. If the airlines don't bring
business, we don't have business," said Michael Teklu, who organized the
drivers. He said drivers need accommodations from the commission to lower
their costs and allow them to earn more money.

But when cab drivers have requested relief from the commission over the last
two years, they've gotten fee increases — from $2,150 in 2001 to $2,525 now.

About 350 drivers banded together last year to form the Minneapolis-St. Paul
International Taxi Cab Drivers Association to speak with a stronger, more
unified voice. In all, 397 owners operate 587 cabs at the airport. With the
help of a lobbyist, the association took itsconcerns to the state Capitol
this year and now is making headway with the commission staff on several
economic issues.

The airport commission staff will make recommendations on cabdrivers' issues
next month to a commission subcommittee. Staff is recommending a slight
reduction in permit fees to $2,500 a year. The commission may also allow
drivers to make payments on the fee, rather than paying it all at once.

The airport staff, at least, is willing to allow rooftop advertising on
cabs, enabling cabs to raise revenue to offset permit fees. The staff also
has taken a softer stance on a proposal to extend by one year the life of
cabs; now, they must be retired after five years of service.

Commission chairwoman Victoria Grunseth said she plans to give the
cabdrivers' issues a fair hearing as she promised state lawmakers who took
up the drivers' cause last session.

"They're going to have a friendly audience," she said. "I don't think that
means they're going to get everything they want. Some of those issues are
for the cabdrivers to solve," Grunseth said.

Items still under negotiation include:

   • Alternate workdays. The airport staff wants to try out for 30 days a
system being used at Oakland and Los Angeles airports to cut down the number
of drivers vying for business at any one time. Drivers would work a
compressed schedule, for example, half of the drivers working the day shift
and the rest at night, or half working three days, the rest the next three
days.

Drivers, who have sent the commission a 400-signature petition, are opposed
to that because "it puts more pressure on you in three days to make a week's
wage," said John Choi, an attorney and lobbyist hired by cab drivers. They'd
lose the flexibility to respond to family emergencies.

   • Choice of inspectors. Cabdrivers want to choose from a
commission-approved list of mechanics to conduct annual inspections. Arlie
Johnson, assistant airport director for landside operations, said the
commission is happy with the St. Paul Maintenance Facility, which inspects
all St. Paul police and fire vehicles and ambulances and is concerned other
mechanics won't do as thorough a job inspecting vehicles.

   • Minimum fare. The Association has proposed a $12 per-trip minimum so
that drivers waiting three hours between trips don't end up with a $4 fare.
Choi concedes the $12 threshold may be too high. Johnson said some drivers
aren't on board with that idea because they may lose business to less
expensive modes of transportation and some feel "an $8 fare is better than
waiting around."

   • Licensing. The commission requires airport drivers also to be licensed
to work in St. Paul, Minneapolis or another city. Cabdrivers say they
shouldn't be forced to pay permit fees in another city when they tend to
work solely at the airport.

Airport officials seem unwilling to budge on the licensing requirement
because cabdrivers are expected to make money elsewhere, not just at the
airport, Johnson said.

   • Insurance. Cabdrivers want to lower their insurance costs by lowering
their minimum liability coverage, which is now at $1 million. Johnson said
the commission is willing to lend its expertise if drivers want to
self-insure but doesn't want to lower the coverage, which is required of all
contractors who work at the airport.

   • Transferring permits. In an effort to stem the overabundance of cabs, a
moratorium on new cab permits has been in place for four years, and the
commission prohibits permits from being transferred. If cab drivers want to
sell their businesses or pass them on to family members, they have to do so
without the airport permit.

Drivers say the business loses value without the right to operate at the
airport, which is why they want the right to transfer permits. Some have
found a way around this: grant-ing prospective buyers power of attorney,
which allows them to use the permit, acting on their behalf. The commission
is unhappy with this situation.

Airport officials say cabdrivers' financial difficulties stem, in part, from
there being too many of them for the market to sustain. The drivers want the
commission's help but not too much interference.

"It's a market that comes and goes. In the long run, we feel the business
will come back. If somebody feels there is not enough business and it's time
to move on, we make that decision individually. We don't want the MAC to
make that decision for us," Teklu said.

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