From the Chicago Dispatcher, December 2007
Taking Center Stage
Cabdrivers are speaking out against conditions at Chicago’s airport taxi-staging areas.
By: Jonathan Bullington
Chicago cabdrivers have had plenty to complain about this past year. Repeated attempts to secure a meter increase have proved unsuccessful. Gas prices continue to eat away at driver income with no relief - i.e. a gas surcharge or lower gas prices - in sight. Now, new issues are causing concern amongst the driver community and they center on the taxi-staging areas at both O'Hare and Midway airports.
Park, Pray, Pay?
Most drivers at O'Hare's staging area are familiar with the “Multi-use rest shelters,” located at the southwest corner of the lot. For many Muslim cabdrivers, these shelters provide a place for them to perform one of the five daily prayers their religion requires.
Yet, for a driver to pray while at the staging area, he/she is faced with the dilemma of what to do with his/her cab while praying. If a driver leaves his/her cab parked in line and goes to pray, that parked cab can block the flow of other drivers trying to move up in line for a fare; and staying in the cab for traffic flow's sake means that driver runs the risk of missing prayer.
The solution many Muslim cabdrivers have found is: exit the lot heading to the terminals, park off to the side of the lane along a fence near the shelters so their cabs are not blocking traffic, exit their cabs to pray, return to their cabs and continue on to the terminals to pick up their fares. The only problem with this solution is that the area where they are parking is designated a no-parking zone and drivers returning to their cabs are finding them decorated in tickets.
Fayez Khozindar is one such cabdriver. A 25-year veteran cabbie, Khozindar was bothered by these parking tickets and sought to find a solution to this problem. His first step was to collect signatures on a petition stating the following:
“We the undersigned drivers would like to express our appreciation for the improved facilities at the airport, which allow us to practice our prayers in dignity and wholesomeness. However, around sunset some of us who are in the moving lanes move their cars from the lot and pull their terminal tickets and park on the side, not far from the shelter, for 2-5 minutes to do their prayers. This action we believe will not affect the operation at the lot, nor will it stop it completely. Therefore, we would like you to help us stop your officers, who come only at sunset, to issue these unfair parking tickets.”
In a week's time, Khozindar and others collected 600 or so signatures. On November 1, Khozindar, Muslim Community Center President Dr. Abdul Sattar and others met with city officials regarding these tickets. In attendance from the city were Department of Consumer Services Commissioner (DCS) Norma Reyes, Assistant Commissioner Shellie Riedle as well as representatives from the Department of Aviation (DOA), Department of Arab Affairs, Department of Human Services and the Department of Human Relations.
The meeting lasted two hours, during which Khozindar said a “good and frank exchange of ideas” took place with both sides expressing their interest to keep the flow of traffic to the terminals free of obstructions.
“If a guy stays in the lot, then he will interrupt the flow of traffic,” Khozindar said. “We are doing a favor by parking away from the crowds.”
Khozindar insisted that the area where cabs are currently being parked does not block traffic flow and, as such, is the only viable solution to this problem.
“Where we are talking about parking, there would be room for two cars to go through,” Khozindar said. He urged drivers not to park around the shelters and to keep the short-trip lane clear of parked cabs.
The Chicago Dispatcher attempted to contact several city officials about this matter. According to DOA Director of Media Relations Karen Pride, the issues raised during the November 1st meeting are being reviewed by her department and DCS, yet she offered no further explanation as to what her department is looking into and when a solution might be reached. Kenneth Gunn, first deputy commissioner of the Department of Human Relations, said his department is working on something but declined to comment on what that might be or when it might be announced. DCS ignored our repeated attempts for comment on this situation.
While Khozindar and his supporters wait for a decision from the city, their next step appears to be the formation of a “multi-ethnic taxi drivers association,” which can organize with other groups and associations to have an “umbrella organization.”
Khozindar said he originally had the idea to organize Muslim cabdrivers to tackle other issues with the city, but that he didn't want to isolate people, so he thought the group could be an interfaith or multi-ethnic group.
“We have a vision to have an organized body of cabdrivers,” Khozindar said. “We are all concerned about the issues of the drivers. We hope all these organizations can be successful to tackle the real problems of the drivers. Our main concern is to educate drivers to have common sense of decency.”
Intersection Safety; Bathroom Space
The issues drivers have with the airport taxi-staging areas do not end with receiving parking tickets. Veteran cabdriver Arnie Kast has been picking up passengers from O'Hare for the last 28 years and in that time, he has tried to bring to the attention of city officials areas where he thinks airport ground transportation can be improved. Despite his efforts, Kast has become increasingly frustrated by what he sees as the city's complete lack of consideration for cabdrivers and their safety - and he has examples to prove it.
Example 1: Almost two years ago, Kast recognized a potential safety concern in the way drivers are entering the staging area at O'Hare. Specifically, he said drivers are making an illegal turn into the staging area from the far-right lane, instead of turning from the two lanes clearly indicated as turn lanes. In Kast's opinion, a photo-enforced traffic light at the entrance to the staging area would stop this problem and help prevent the possibility of a car accident occurring at that intersection. According to Kast, he had made this suggestion to more than one DOA official but has never heard any response from them other than “we'll see what we can do.”
“They’re going to wait for a fatality there,” Kast said of the city's inaction.
The Chicago Dispatcher asked Ms. Pride about Kast's suggestion. Her response was, “The department's Security Division was made aware of this issue. A photo enforced light has not been installed at that location; however, there has been an increased police presence in the area of the intersection.”
Example 2: Kast said he and fellow drivers have concerns about the size of the bathroom stalls located near the “Multi-use rest shelters,” which he said are not large enough and can barely fit an adult. He even went so far as to invite WBBM investigative reporter Steve Miller to O'Hare to get a first-hand look at the bathroom stalls, after which Kast said Miller agreed with his assessment of the situation. However, Kast was disappointed to hear the report, which he said offered little in the way of investigative reporting. Therefore, Kast invited this reporter to O'Hare so that I could get a look. Being of average height and weight (6 foot, 155 pounds) I was surprised to see that, in fact, the bathroom stalls did offer little to no room for an adult's use.
The Chicago Dispatcher again asked Ms. Pride about this bathroom situation, including my personal assessment of the bathroom's small size, however, Ms. Pride failed to comment directly, instead saying only that the bathrooms are a “permanent structure…constructed to accommodate high traffic unavailable in the existing facility.”
Hot Meals at Midway
The taxi-staging area at Midway Airport, though smaller and less crowded than O'Hare, still presents areas of concern to some drivers. Both Kast and fellow veteran driver Steve Wiedersberg raised issue with the food options available to drivers at Midway.
Unlike O'Hare's staging area, which includes a food stand serving hot meals, Midway's staging area has only vending machines, with only one designated for snacks such as candy and chips. According to Wiedersberg, a food truck used o visit the staging area but was quickly “chased out” with tickets. The Chicago Dispatcher spoke with several drivers at Midway regarding their food options and each one said he thought a hot meal or healthier meal should be made available for drivers, particularly since cabdrivers are at a high risk for diabetes.
“We're paying money here,” said one driver who wished to remain anonymous, “and they're giving us only this junk food.”
According to Wiedersberg, he has brought this issue up at various task force meetings but each time it is denied. As for Kast, he said he asked Commissioner Reyes about drivers receiving a hot meal at Midway more than two years ago and, at that time, her response was that she was looking into it and would get back to him.
“Maybe she's still looking into it,” Kast said. “Sometimes eyesight is poor.”
The Chicago Dispatcher attempted to reach Commissioner Reyes about this issue several times but, as of press time, no one from her office has responded to our inquiry. We were able to ask Ms. Pride about adding hot meals at Midway. Her response was as follows:
“Since wait times at Midway are typically brief, the vending machines are offered as a quick convenience without causing interruptions to service for customers waiting at the terminal. The Department does not plan to offer hot meals at Midway.”
The main concern both Kast and Wiedersberg had was with what they see as a lack of concern for cabdrivers and their problems.
“Whenever we bring these issues and concerns up, we're given the run around,” Wiedersberg said.
“I realize everyone has a lot to do,” Kast said, “but it seems that when a cabdriver has a complaint or a grievance, the answer is always 'we'll get back to you.' I can't deal with people who are going to put me on hold. These are safety and health issues. I don't have time for the 'we'll get back to you' routine. Two years of being told this does not equate to satisfactory results.”
could you break this article down into smaller pieces for discussion of the several different topics covered? otherwise it will just get too messy and hard to follow.
thank you, jb
Good suggestion. Thanks Mr. Bellow.
Is there any chance these drivers would be willing to accept alternatives other than the ones they propose? Practicing ones religion is a Government insured right of all Americans. Accommodating such practice is not however the responsibility of Government. An off site storefront masque would allow Islamic drivers to prey before they enter the staging area. A small donation at the door would fund such an endeavor. From the sound of things a mid eastern restaurant next door might be a good idea as well. As a matter of fact I can't believe one of these enterprising entrepreneurial taxi drivers hasn't done it already. Request for cab driver sized restroom stalls are likely to fall on deaf ears by those administrators who are willing to wait in line for 15 minuets to get a seat in the port-a-potty's the city of Chicago furnishes for all it's festivals. I for one resent the sociopathic approach to NO PARKING signs taken by some Islamic drivers at the airport chapel. Point in fact...If you want to throw a party....rent a hall. I might point out that nursing mothers face the same public restraints (having to perform a required task at a specific time 5 times a day) as those seeking room to prey for thousands of years, yet you wont find any "special" parking for milk maddens. Kenny
I think the Muslim drivers should pray when they pull in for a one to two hour wait. They have plenty of time during the waiting time to pray, and Muslims have some discretion as to when they pray.
I think it is real ****ty and opportunistic for the City to target the vehicles of the praying people because they can't even interrupt their prayers to move the cars even if they were warned.
BUT, there is a finite amount of parking space in that aisle, and if it becomes technically legal, problems COULD develop. A week ago I saw 12 cars piled up over there. you could still maneuver through, but it was difficult, and if it becomse legal and a habit, it will become a problem.
Muslims! Think this thing through! Talk to your fellow Muslims and ask them to please pray during the time of eating, or talking, or sleeping while waiting in line, and not wait until it's time to leave and then go pray. does this not make more sense?
