Fort Smith directors to weigh increasing, deregulating taxicab rates

Fort Smith Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman speaks during the Fort Smith Board of Directors study session Tuesday. 
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Saccente)
Fort Smith Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman speaks during the Fort Smith Board of Directors study session Tuesday. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Saccente)

FORT SMITH -- City directors plan to decide this month whether the city will allow taxicab companies to charge customers higher rates or stop regulating rates altogether.

The board, following discussion at its study session Tuesday, decided it would vote on two proposed ordinances at its April 20 meeting.

One would increase what cab companies can charge. Another would repeal several sections of the city's code related to cabs, including one allowing the city to set fare limits.

Jerry Burnett of Payless Taxi of Fort Smith requested the rates be increased earlier this year, citing higher operating expenses and the need for drivers to earn a living wage. The rates haven't been adjusted since 2000.

Jeff Dingman, deputy city administrator, wrote in a memo included in Tuesday's meeting packet city staff recommend adopting increases in the cab rate schedule while leaving the city code intact. The adjustment Dingman recommended would:

• Increase the $2 charge for initial pickup to $3

• Increase the 75-cents charge for each additional zone transversed to $1

• Increase the $8 fare to and from the Fort Smith Regional Airport from any point in Fort Smith to $10 for one passenger, plus the same $2 for each additional passenger

• Modify the fare to and from the airport to and from Fort Chaffee to allow the $14 rate to cover up to four passengers rather than five

• Increase the cost to reserve a private cab for one person from $7 to $10 in addition to zone fares

City Director Kevin Settle, at-large Position 6, Tuesday said the government shouldn't regulate what private businesses can charge for their services.

"It's the free market. That's what we live in," Settle said.

Jarred Rego, vice mayor and Ward 1 director, agreed.

Ward 3 Director Lavon Morton said the proposed rate increase would allow the drivers and owners of the cab companies to make more money and protect the passengers they serve.

"They asked for a rate increase," Morton said. "That's all they asked for. If they had been unhappy about the way the operation worked, presumably they would have asked for that, but they didn't ask for that," Morton said of ending all regulations.

"I guess I don't understand why we wouldn't want to protect the public. Any visitor from out of town, including a foreign country, who comes to Fort Smith has the right to expect that our rules and regulations are just like any other well-managed city in the United States," he said.

Burnett, who was present at Tuesday's meeting, said he favors deregulation. Payless Taxi and Razorback Cab are the two cab companies in Fort Smith, according to the city clerk's office.

The ordinance proposing deregulation of the cab companies would repeal Section 26-32 of city code, which states directors will establish the fares charged by cab operators and drivers in the city "from time to time."

The ordinance also would repeal two other sections of city code. One requiring drivers to advise passengers whenever they are taking a route other than the most direct and another stating the board will hold a public hearing on any application for a permit to operate a cab in the city.

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Fort Smith Ordinance No. 40-00

The ordinance, adopted Aug. 1, 2000, states no taxicab operator or driver will charge, or permit to be charged, a greater or lesser fare rate than the following:

$2 for initial pickup for transportation from any point in any zone to another point in the same zone, in addition to $0.75 for each additional zone transversed from the point of delivery to the other point as determined from a “taxi fare grid map.”

$2 for each additional passenger involved in any one pickup and delivery.

Special fare of $8 for one passenger to and from the Fort Smith Regional Airport from any point in the city, plus $2 per additional passenger in any one pickup and delivery.

Special fare of $14 for up to five passengers to and from the Fort Smith Regional Airport to and from any point at Fort Chaffee.

$7, plus zone fares, to reserve a private cab for use by one person only for transporting purposes.

$24 to reserve a private cab for use by one person for moving purposes (household and personal items).

$24 per hour for waiting time, and a pro rata portion thereof for waiting periods under one hour, provided no charge will be made for a waiting period under three minutes, and no charge will be made for waiting at traffic signal lights and in traffic.

Additional fees may be charged for things such as suitcases, cleaning and transporting during significantly inclement weather conditions.

Source: Fort Smith

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