"Cabbies-limo drivers feud leads to Phoenix airport recommendations"

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Sky Harbor proposes $15 minimum for cab ride 
Sky Harbor driver feud sparks proposed changes
By Ginger D. Richardson
The Arizona Republic


Some passengers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport may have to pay
more for a short taxi ride and others would no longer be able to hire a
curbside limousine because of a long-standing feud between cabbies and limo
drivers.

Ongoing bickering between the two groups is forcing the airport to overhaul
its ground transportation services in an effort to improve customer service.
Passengers who need to take a cab or a limo have complained that they feel
harassed by drivers who both barter and solicit them for business, despite
rules that forbid such behavior.

The recommendations, which still need to be approved, would affect travelers
in several ways:

   . Meter rates won't change, but the minimum cost of a taxi ride from the
airport would be set at $15, the equivalent of about a five-mile trip. Right
now, there is no minimum.

   . People would be able to use credit cards to pay cab fares. Now, cabbies
take only cash.

   . Limo service will be available only by reservation. Currently,
passengers can grab a limo on the spot just like a cab at all three
terminals.

"The important thing for us is that we are able to ensure the services that
the customer wants, and that we provide a good service," Assistant Aviation
Director Carl Newman said of the proposed changes. "There's just been
ongoing conflict between the cab drivers and the limo drivers, and a lot of
times the customer gets caught between the two."

The recommendations come after nearly six months of study by an outside
consultant. They will be discussed by the Aviation Advisory Committee on
Thursday and then must be approved by the Phoenix City Council.

The changes come on the heels of a new plan to raise airport parking fees.
Rates are set to jump 25 to 60 percent by the first of the year and could
even double if people keep using the lots at the rate they are now,
officials said. That means that rates could reach as much as $10 a day in
the economy service lots and $25 a day in the terminal garages.

The parking fees will also be discussed Thursday.

This latest proposal was meant to end a lengthy spat between taxi and limo
drivers but is already being criticized by both groups.

Limo drivers fear that taking away their "on-demand" service, in which a
customer can simply walk out to the terminal curb and request a luxury
vehicle, will bankrupt them.

Taxi drivers say the changes don't do enough to help them make a living
wage.

Although it will help them make more money for short trips, they also wanted
higher meter rates and a fuel surcharge to help offset gas prices. They are
happy about the elimination of on-demand limo service, accusing the drivers
of trying to steal customers by promising better fares and a nicer ride.

Sky Harbor is one of the only major airports in the country that has the
on-demand service option.

"There are so many fights," said George Omari, a driver for the Discount cab
company. "It's a shame to see two drivers fight in front of customers. It's
not good for business."

Limo drivers counter that a small group of cabbies is the source of the
trouble and that the new rules would take away their sole income source as
most are small-business owners who serve only the airport.

"We don't know what we will do if they kick us out. All of my work is at the
airport," said Nick Peimani, the owner of Prince Limousine Co., which
operates three cars at Sky Harbor.

Jihad Khoury, owner and operator at Affordable Limousine Service, says his
small company can't compete with the big limousine services that operate on
reservations. On-demand fares make up 97 percent of his business, he said.

Driver tension is nothing new.

In March, angry cab drivers created a 57-taxi roadblock that snarled
downtown traffic for nearly four hours by parking across four of the five
lanes of Washington Street in front of Phoenix City Hall. 

The noisy demonstration, which was designed to draw attention to working
conditions at the airport, caught Phoenix officials by surprise. 

The drivers came to the city with a litany of complaints about how they are
treated by their employers, saying they held Phoenix responsible because the
city contracts with the companies to provide airport service.

Their grievances focused on several major areas, including the cost of
leasing their cars from their employers, insurance coverage, the requirement
that they use expensive compressed natural gas and competition from
on-demand limo drivers.

The airport also says that taxi drivers, who often have to wait in a holding
lot for up to 90 minutes before heading to the terminal for a fare,
sometimes balk at taking customers who only wish to travel a short distance.

"They tend to refuse short fares, and that creates a real problem for us,"
Newman said. 

That's why officials are recommending the $15 minimum fare rule for rides
from the airport. That equates to about a five-mile ride under the airport's
current rate structure.

It's unlikely that any changes would go into effect much before Christmas,
and some may take even longer. Limousine drivers, for example, are already
asking that the elimination of the on-demand service be phased in or dropped
altogether.

SuperShuttle and other van or bus services would not be affected.

So far, passengers seem ambivalent to the proposed rules.

Many who take cabs on a regular basis say they rely on them for
transportation to their homes and are used to paying a fare of $15 or more
anyway, although they do seem to like the idea of being able to use their
credit cards.

They also say that they won't miss the on-demand limousine service.

"It seems to me that you could always make a reservation if you wanted to
take a limo," Chandler resident Joan Kelly said. "Overall, I really don't
think this is going to affect me very much."

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