Cape considers regulating taxi companies

The Cape Girardeau City Council is revamping its taxicab ordinance, and Tim Duffey wants to know why.

"I wonder what this ordinance is aimed at," Duffey said when he first heard about it Tuesday. He owns a 2-year-old shuttle company, Designated Driver.

Other driving services in Cape Girardeau include the Cape Girardeau Transit Authority, Bootheel Area Rapid Transportation (BART) and the newly formed Superior Shuttle.

The proposed ordinance is slated for second and third readings at the city council's meeting Tuesday. The bill would replace the city's current taxi ordinance, parts of which date to 1967.

The city's current ordinance requires an applicant's name and business address, a $15 fee per cab and proof of insurance up to $50,000; signs with 4-inch-high letters on each vehicle; and for drivers to be law-abiding citizens "of good moral character and reputation."

Under the new ordinance, the fees and insurance requirement would be the same. However, it would require cars and vans to pass inspections and drivers to be tested for drug and alcohol use and have police background checks, according to Kim Kelley, who participated in meetings with city officials to draft the ordinance. She is a former co-owner of Kelley Transportation, which was bought by the county's transit authority last year.

She said the ordinance protects people from "anyone who wants to throw a magnetic sign on their car and drive around saying 'I'll take you here for $5 or there for $8.' It's so all those people who want to do transportation operate under the same rules."

While her company was in business, Kelley said, drivers and operators adhered to stringent rules because the company received federal and state money.

Speaking in general terms, Kelley said such rules can be cumbersome but "are usually the best route and the best way to protect and keep safe the patrons who are using the services. Cape Girardeau, in a roundabout way, can be responsible for what happens because these people went and got licenses."

Tom Mogelnicki, executive director of the Cape County Transit Authority, said he did not think the ordinance would require any changes to his fleet or drivers because they already comply with federal and state laws. County transit drivers must have valid class E licenses, he said.

Cape Girardeau police chief Carl Kinnison said updating the ordinance is part of "an obligation to the citizens that, if they pay someone for a cab ride, they're assuming that these vehicles and the drivers have been checked and licensed."

If approved, the ordinance would go into effect within 10 days, but Kinnison said those found in violation would be given a warning before being cited "if they legitimately don't know" about the new code.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127