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City Attorney Bill Bates apprised the
board that it was up to the petitioners to present clear and
convincing evidence that there is public need for an additional
taxicab company in Lincoln.
Bill Shelley and Diane Malone are
requesting the license to start up the new taxicab company. Both
people have separately run successful taxi businesses in Lincoln in
the past. Shelley ran his business from 1992 to 1997 before selling
it.
From their experiences Shelley and
Malone said that they believe that there is need and that there is
room enough for two businesses to survive here. "What we have been
hearing is that the hours [of the current business] are not long
enough," said Shelley. We have heard from bartenders and others that
there hasn't been service available in the late hours for their
customers. "We want to be open 24 hours a day," Shelley said. At
least we're going to try that at first, he said.
"When I was in business there were two
cab companies and there was plenty of business," Shelley said.
Seniors and bar business were a significant number of the fares.
The new company intends to locate an
office in the downtown area with off-street parking for the vehicles
when they are not operating.
At present there is one taxicab company
in Lincoln. The owners, Malisa and Brian Rankin, were present to
give testimony in opposition to granting the new license.
The Rankins began their business less
than a year ago. Brian Rankin said that they have not received any
complaints about their business hours or anything else. They operate
until midnight on Sunday and Monday, (bars close at 12 a.m. on
Sunday) and until 2:30 to 3 a.m. other nights. Their set hours are 6
a.m. to 11 p.m., but they take calls outside that time frame. If
there is an out-of-town run, Rankin said he handles it so that his
drivers stay available to handle in-town riders.
In addition, Brian and Malisa feel that
their service has been good and met the public's need. They say
there have not been any missed calls on the cell phone they use for
the business during their standard business hours or at other hours.
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Rankin supplied some of their current
business statistics. They have put $8,000 into two of their cabs and
$15,000 into a newer one. Thankfully, he says he can do his own
labor. The cabs go through lots of brakes. It takes a lot of
maintenance to keep cabs going.
The business has two drivers working
days during the week making 30 to 35 calls per day. They average
$37.26 per day.
Rankin said he has worked Sunday and
Monday nights, and in the last two weeks he has had only seven calls
between 6 p.m. and midnight. The night driving depends on if it is a
heavy bar night. That has been averaging $100 to $150 per weekend in
fares. "It's going to be hard to find drivers if it's less than
that," Rankin said.
Rankin contends that there is not
enough daily business to keep two businesses operational with the
insurance and vehicle costs.
Both the present company and the
petitioners agreed that competition in business is good.
The question remains whether there is
sufficient amount of need for services to meet public necessity and
convenience at this time.
Alderman Benny Huskins summed up the
concern of the board when he opened the discussion by saying that he
recalled when Lincoln had two and then three cab companies running.
It was only a short time that there were three because there wasn't
enough business for all three to stay in business. For a short time
there was no service at all in Lincoln. Huskins said, "I would not
like to see that happen again because neither of them could make
it."
Other board members, Mayor Beth Davis
and Verl Prather, said much the like. "I'm for free enterprise, but
I don't want to put somebody out of business," said Davis.
The board decided to defer a vote until
Mon., Nov. 3, when the board will meet again at 7 p.m. This will
provide further opportunity to evaluate public need.
Citizens are encouraged to make their
opinions known to aldermen or the mayor.
It was
further noted that, should the petition be declined, there are no
time constraints limiting the petitioners from re-petitioning the
board at any time in the future.
[Jan
Youngquist] |
