The income of Chicago taxi drivers needs to be increased. While meter rates are an important component of driver income, there are factors that could negate the effects of a fare increase.
For example, what good is a fare increase if the expenses rise to offset that increase? What good is a fare increase if that increase is diluted by the issuance of more medallions? What good is a fare increase in an economy where people are looking to find cheaper alternatives for everything, including their means of transportation?
What good is a fare increase if lease rates rise? Does that mean there shouldn't be a lease cap increase? Not necessarily. I challenge people when they say there shouldn't be a lease cap increase, just as I challenge people when they say there shouldn't be a fare increase. As a rule, I don't think there should ever be a universal lease cap increase unless there is a fare increase first.
More importantly, I think it is the city's responsibility to make sure our income is objectively studied, rather than by making their own estimations or by asking drivers to save meter and gas receipts. How much do drivers make? That's the important thing the City Council should be asking, not just how much the meter rates are. If the city gives us a fare increase only to stick drivers and owners with new requirements and expenses, are we any better off? To say that we are business people and that our incomes vary is true, but only to a degree. There is an average income drivers make. What is it and what should it be? The incentive-based way taxi driving works is good and motivates drivers to work hard, while affording them the independence they love. Good drivers make more money than bad drivers. That's the way it should be. But how much does the average driver make?
This is one of the thoughts some drivers with the Chicago Taxi Drivers Union (CTDU) stressed to Commissioner Reyes of the Department of Consumer Services (DCS) in a meeting last month - that the city needs to make sure that a driver's income is rising. Deputy Commissioner Shellie Riedle and Project Coordinator Eve Jennings were also there listening to our concerns.
With the economy the way it is, I think this would be a bad time for a fare increase. People are already looking for ways to cut expenses, and, let's face it, taking cabs is already expensive for a lot of people.
If we were to get a fare increase now, I would fear that a lot of people would start making arrangements to find other ways to travel. We are in a city with many forms of ground transportation. People don't have to spend $40 to take a cab downtown from O'Hare when the Blue Line takes you there for $2. Raise taxi fares right now and a lot of people might start weighing those options. If a strike were pulled off, riders would have been forced to find other ways to travel. By forcing them to do so, we might push them out of the habit of taking cabs and into the alternative ways they found to travel. When forced to look at a bus schedule, they might start to think that the CTA isn't really that bad. Why not take the bus every day?
We don't have a fully functioning union yet in this industry, though I'm proud to say that many drivers are excited that one is in the works and will hopefully be successful. That's the mission of the CTDU - to get Chicago taxi drivers a union to protect our interests.
Other issues we brought up to DCS included the need for enforcement of Wiedersberg's Law, which makes battery against a cabdriver a felony offense. That law was lobbied for by Steve Wiedersberg, who worked for years to make it happen, traveling to and from Springfield to speak with legislative members. Steve Wiedersberg is a member of the CTDU. Even though the law has been passed and is in effect, it hasn't always been enforced by the Chicago Police Department or the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. Commissioner Reyes pledged her support to help make sure attackers of cabdrivers are properly charged. If anyone has been attacked while on duty and your attacker has not been charged with a felony, please get in touch with the CTDU at (312) 437-8294 and we'll bring it to the Commissioner's attention.
We also told Commissioner Reyes that we don't want to see more medallions issued. If the city does decide to issue more medallions, we'd like to see all of them go to drivers, but half of them at the very least.
We also expressed to Commissioner Reyes that we'd like to see lease cap reform, because the current law governing lease caps is convoluted. Commissioner Reyes informed us her department is already working on that.
We also informed Commissioner Reyes that we want DCS to work harder to stop hotel hustling, especially by limo drivers.
We brought up the continued reports we receive about mistreatment of drivers at the inspection facility.
We also thanked Commissioner Reyes for instituting the new inspection guidelines for taxicabs at the 39th Street Inspection Facility. This has been a thorn in the side of drivers and owners for years. I had first been informed of this problem by former Chicago taxi driver Yi Tang who argued, correctly I thought, that DCS shouldn't be able to write tickets for problems with cabs if there were no standards for people to know how to comply with the law. Mr. Tang argued that such a practice was unconstitutional.
More recently George Kasp and I proposed ordinances to the City Council Transportation Committee in October of 2007 calling for better inspection guidelines. Our proposed ordinances weren't passed but DCS took on the challenge of revising the inspection guidelines.
Commissioner Reyes informed us that Shellie Riedle worked tirelessly to create and put into effect the new guidelines.
These were some of the issues discussed with DCS. In attendance from the CTDU were Johnny Holmes, John Henry Assabill, George Kasp, Steve Wiedersberg, Kobe Williams and myself.
We also apprised Commissioner Reyes that we were opposed to the strike and believed that most drivers out there were as well.
Personal Thoughts on the Strike - the Triple Witching
Few drivers intended to strike. With all the money the AFSC spent to market the strike, it never had legs.
The AFSC/UTCC knew it did not have the support it needed for the strike. That's why they kept delaying the strike and called it on a day that has been historically so busy that O'Hare is naturally a drive-through at times.
You see, lots of drivers drop their cabs before Thanksgiving for a week or two - at least through the weekend usually. That's one witch.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving is when a lot of travelers come back from the long weekend causing O'Hare and Midway to be madhouses with lines of people waiting for cabs. That's two witches.
Sunday is also the first day of the RSNA show, which is one of the biggest conventions of the year and is the day when a lot of people fly in for the show. That's three.
So, given the lack of the supply of cabs due to drivers dropping for the holiday and the increased demand for cabs because of the weekend travelers and the beginning of the RSNA show, people typically have trouble getting cabs on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. That's how it's been for years. Even if every cab in the city works, it will be a busy day. So at times when O'Hare would be a drive-through, the AFSC/UTCC would be able to claim it's because of their strike, when in reality, few would strike. That's the triple witching.
Their plan backfired though, because holiday traffic was down this year. Even though O'Hare was close to a drive-through at times, both on Sunday night and Monday morning, for the most part the airport lots were well stocked with cabs. Question: As busy as it was, do we really need more cabs in this city?
CADD - Blood on the hands of the AFSC?
The AFSC/UTCC doesn't have the support of drivers so that's why they have talked about calling their next strike on another busy day - New Year's Eve.
Drivers won't strike on New Year's Eve. It's one of the best days of the year. I hope I can get a cab to lease that night!
Knowing how busy it'll be, the AFSC/UTCC may call a strike that night. Even though they know they don't have the support from drivers, they might give the public the perception that the reason they can't get cabs is that drivers are on strike.
A word of caution - Although the vast majority of drivers won't think of striking that day, with all the press attention the AFSC/UTCC is getting, somebody who's had too much to drink might think that they won't be able to get a cab and may decide to drive. This could be tragedy. Think guys! Think for a change!
Union Development
We already have a very positive working relationship with DCS but we still need to work on getting our legal status as a union. Until then, we are all at the mercy of the city and can rely on nothing more than the conscience of city leaders to protect our rights. We need to take care of ourselves by working to form a union so we can get things like group rates on health insurance and pension plans. This is something that people are actively working on to make happen. If you'd like to get involved with the creation of a real union for taxi drivers, leave us a message at (312) 437-8294. To borrow from JFK, ask not what your union can do for you, ask what you can do for your union!
- George Lutfallah
