Airport Express has the right to solicit. THey have a booth inside the terminals. Cabs have the right to do that too but somebody would have to put up the money and personell to station that booth.
The reason nobody will is that if you convince passengers to take a cab, they still have to take the first cab. So one company wouldn't put a booth there only to drum up business for another company.
Gonzo,
Airport Express or Continental or whoever else don't have the right to defraud the tourists. Several times I have talked to groups of two or more at the hotels who were travelling together and waiting for the return trip to the airport from these vans and they were embarrassed how they got suckered by the guy at the aiport who sold them the return ticket at a discount only to find out that they could have split a cab more cheaply either way and gotten there a lot faster.
"Welcome to Chicago"
Cabdrivers do not have the right to solicit at the airports and anybody can take any cab they wish in the cab line or request any cab they want.
Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm sorry, but you post was filled with misinformation. Where did you base your opinion from?
-Mike Foulks, President, Chicago Cabdriver Organization (CCO)
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Replying to:
Airport Express has the right to solicit. THey have a booth inside the terminals. Cabs have the right to do that too but somebody would have to put up the money and personell to station that booth.
The reason nobody will is that if you convince passengers to take a cab, they still have to take the first cab. So one company wouldn't put a booth there only to drum up business for another company.
Mike,
The guy who knows all about this stuff is Jay Kleeman.
Maybe he can weigh in on this.
George Lutfallah
Chicago Dispatcher
I would like to reserve my comments on the operations "inside" the terminals for later when I have all the details. Obviously the lines are blurred when there is a sanctioned booth interior to the building. Drivers and respective supervisors (not necessarily the ticket agent) may not be strictly following the rules based on complacency or worse - incompetence. My "rules of engagement" have always focused on the multitude of taxi driver mis-behaviors. Mission teams do change focus and detail certain types of operations (Like LY plates on the third floor of the garage...) Maybe this is a topic for discussion?
I will clarify the specific operational stance for the terminals and these types of operations - from both sides. The Airports do a fine job of filtering the extremely high volume commercial transport providers. I am sure we could all enact some more regulations and restrictions to limit abuse further - but then only the good guys and professionals (yes ladies included) would pay for the increase in scrutiny.
More later, I’m off to shake the trees. I’ll look into this personally by visiting the area’s tonight. As always, not to be overstated – “An educated consumer is our best customer.” "To be continued"
hello, mr. kleeman:
i am mainly concerned about finding out the official 'rules' as they pertain to limos and airport express drivers and companies as they pertain to their allowed behavior not only at the airports but at the hotels, and restaurants and so on. of course it may be different for limos and airport express drivers, but i heard that for the most part they are supposed to be prearranged.
i have seen numerous airport express drivers pull up to hotels, and go inside, then come back out without anyone then drive away. if they aren't prearranged, is it ok for them to solicit inside hotels? what about limo drivers at hotels or restaurants? where are the rules and regulations for them published? are they also under the dept. of consumer services? etc. etc.
i have heard of airport express drivers actually approaching people in cablines at the airports to solicit their business. is this allowed? and so on.
peter ali enger
Ok At the airports, the physical proximity to the passengers - by way of the desk or booth - creates a gray area. When the booth is occupied by an agent, the drivers should be working off the booth. Since in practice many times a driver will be the booth agent (when it is not manned) the process becomes a little more tricky. 1st they have operational rights and business procedures - since they actually pay a lease or fee which includes a portion of the proceeds - to the city. This means that yes they are in the terminals and open for business. I am not aware that there is a strict rule for them to be with in so many feet of the booth. The owners and managers would love to have the drivers promote thru out the luggage area - of course any owner would. The plain truth is that if and or when the drivers get a little too comfortable - and it comes to operations staff attention - they get sent back towards either the vehicle or the booth. I will have more on this after tomorrow - I have one more contact for airport specific operations - just like this.
As for Limos and suburban taxi's - all rides are to be pre arranged. When I say that it means somewhere outside the terminals the ride should have been arranged. Cell phone or radio dispatch fills this need. The prearranged ride form should include the passengers name and destination as well as the location (on the field)for pick up. At any time the driver can be challenged on this. I recommend putting the customers phone number on the form - or at least that it's a personal. This leaves no room for error when determining if a ride form is real or not. I can't tell you how many "drivers" fail to properly fill this out. The form should be on the dash and since the customers are who they are - you hope they are there when you arrive. If not and traffic is lite - the push to recirculate may or may not come. If it does the airport has allowed a 20 minute recirculation time on the stamped form. This is due to the understanding that at certain times the customer may be late or missing. The drivers should not "Dwell" and only be on the curb front while actively attempting the pick up. Leaving the car is fine with me - jump on the running board and speak out loud Smith to Naperville or get out and stand on the curb after opening your trunk. A good rule of thumb is to stay with the car - expidite your loading and hit the road. Anytime you see a driver out and away from the car it's wrong - but it might be that he is new - afraid to lose his customer or yup cheating. I really hate seeing a paper up or a cell phone conversation - it's bad form and disrespectful to the airport and the passengers. When you are in the city line it looks rather busy over on the suburban line - it is. At least the starters keep the flow going and load luggage when they can - the guys going around and having to pay extra stamps for the late passenger (who called and then decided to go be getting coffee using the bathroom and such) make the process busier than it needs to be often. On top of that they are to meet one car number/type. In cold weather or late they might get in the wrong car or purposefully get in any car to get going - while the assigned driver waits... no loads and starts the process over.
Limousines should be pre arranged at hotels and public places. I understand there are places where a doorman has a favorite or drivers will check in to see what is up. This is "cruising." The UCU and mission teams for the Police and Consumer Services hit hot spots and regulate these issues when they find them happening, get complaints and or are directed to special details. I have observed some pretty fine individuals doing the job - it's too bad there are not more of them. Did I say that out loud - yup it's too bad there are not more staff members tasked to enforcement activities specifically on the transportation side.
Airport express should not be soliciting the cab lines - they should be with their vehicles or at the booth. Seems pretty far away from the end of the terminals (where they stage) to be hitting the cab lines out side the building. Let the starter know or ask that a supervisor be brought over to clarify the situation. And I mean ask politely - you know those young starters work really hard - we get to sit in a warm or cold car - they are out there dealing with us all day - Our collective us. That might make a person a little worn down at times :)
I have been busy for the last few days and I am sorry I did not get right back on this. I will review the specific rules of order for the terminals and the off airport operations and give you the ordinances and the pages of the manual. I have a meeting tomorrow and I will specifically ask for clarification on the terminal AE issue. The city cabs do very large portion of the departures from the field. Even still any "holes" in the customer pool that can be closed is certainly a fundamentally sound idea and just plan good business. ( No pun intended)
On a final note, the out of town 1/2 owner of my organization and one of his "new hires" spent the weekend observing the operations at the field all weekend. Against my direction to observe stealthily -they started to get too "into" the observation and started interacting with drivers (slowing the process down in some cases) and interacting with customers (I nearly fainted - totally against the way I have done it over the last 7 years). I guess they thought they were helping while exposing themselves to arrest. Yes the word is out - solicit and you will be arrested. The PD will respond to the call from operations and the arrest will occur.
Imagine having to tell those two to cease and desist! The owner would not look me in the eye, his new hire hid all day. To clarify - The customers are not to be "solicited" in any way or form! I spent a couple of hours today holding my head and trying to be polite as I was informed of these transgressions. Even in an attempt to "Help" (both guys are obviously airport operationally inept I am sad to say) they - created a scene and netted me three calls from the field. So target fixated, they created an environment where the appearance of or indication was - inappropriate. UGH! I guess I'm saying - try as we might - there will always be this "lack of understanding that the rule applies to the other guy."
On that note, until I return be safe out there!
jay,
i am not so concerned about the airport practices, though i have heard anecdotal stories about abuses. what i want to know is what are the published rules for airport express, the limos, and where can i get them?
peter
I have asked for Airport Express information - yet to be received. I did find this for you...
9-112-340 Solicitation of passengers prohibited.
It is unlawful for any person to solicit passengers for transportation on any public way or in any city airport except as specifically provided by contract as approved by the city council of the City of Chicago, pursuant to Section 10-36-270 of the Municipal Code of the City of Chicago. No such vehicle shall be parked on any public way for a time longer than is reasonably necessary to accept passengers in answer to a call for service and no passenger shall be accepted for any trip in such vehicle without previous engagement for such trip, at a fixed charge or fare, through the station or office from which said vehicle is operated. Any person found guilty of violating this section upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100.00 and not more than $300.00 and/or be incarcerated in a penal institution for a term of up to seven days for the first offense and not less than $300.00 and not more than $500.00 and/or be incarcerated in a penal institution for a term of up to 14 days for the second and each subsequent offense in any 180-day period, under the procedure set forth in Section 1-2-1.1 of the Illinois Municipal Code, as amended. A separate and distinct offense shall be regarded as committed each day upon which said person shall continue any such violation, or permit any such violation to exist after notification thereof.
(Prior code § 28-19.2; Amend Coun. J. 2-3-87, pp. 39186, 39202; Amend Coun. J. 10-15-87, p. 5217; Amend Coun. J. 10-4-89, p. 5321; Amend Coun. J. 7-12-90, p. 18634)
It was at :
http://www.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Illinois/chicago_il/title9vehiclestrafficandrailtransportati/chapter9-112publicpassengervehicles?f=templates$fn=altmain-nf.htm$3.0#JD_ch09_112.x1-9-112-340
thank you, mr. kleeman,
i believer that if cabdrivers know this specific information it could go a long way towards empowering them to challenge limo drivers who violate the ordinance, and also to report their activities to the proper authorities.
please let me know when you find Airport Express rules.
peter ali enger
It is unlawful for any person to solicit passengers for transportation on any public way or in any city airport except as specifically provided by contract as approved by the city council of the City of Chicago, pursuant to Section 10-36-270 of the Municipal Code of the City of Chicago.
I think this is the "under contact" which is Airport Express. A FOI request might net more information - I've asked for a casula update.
Still working on it.
