Photo from Checker Cab website
Detroit's cab system could be in for changes.
The city is considering a higher limit on meter rates for traditional cabs and blocking new Uber and Lyft ride services from charging higher rates, JC Reindl of the Detroit Free Press writes.
It would be the first overhaul of city's taxi regulations since 2005, the Freep reports
The Freep reports that the higher meter rates could provide an incentive for cabbies to follow the rules and not charge exorbitant flat rates for short rides, which is illegal and common. Currently the city allows cabbies to charge $1.60 per mile, plus a $2.50 base fare -- rates were set in 2001.
The Freep reports that cabbies say the current meter rates make it difficult to earn a decent living, so they charge illegal flat rates. Raising the rates would require City Council approval and taxi commission review.
"Every time we're hitting that meter, we're cheating ourselves," Detroit cab driver William Harold Davis, 60, told the Freep.
Uber and Lyft have a temporary, two-year operating agreement with the city of Detroit.
Cabbies are angry that Detroit lets Uber and Lyft do business in the city without paying any registration fees or requiring their drivers to buy the same expensive commercial-grade auto insurance that traditional taxi drivers do. The Freep writes:
Detroit also permits Uber and Lyft drivers to charge fare rates based on fluctuating demand, which Uber calls 'surge pricing.' But some consumers and city officials say this practice amounts to unregulated price gouging.
