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Local cab operators speak up on taxi ordinance

MARSHALL — A proposal to repeal a Marshall city ordinance regulating taxis has drawn criticism from cab operators in Marshall. Local taxi business owners say it’s a question of safety, both for their customers and the general public.

“I think it’s a bad idea,” Bob Quasius said of the proposal. Quasius, one of the three licensed taxi cab operators currently in Marshall, said repealing the city taxi ordinance would take away local regulations focused on safety and vehicle insurance.

The issue will go back before the Marshall City Council tonight at a public hearing.

The city taxi ordinances include requirements that taxi cab operators be licensed, that they have public liability and injury insurance as well as property damage insurance, and that their cabs are certified to be in good condition.

Earlier this month, members of the council had some discussion of their own on the issue. City staff were recommending the taxi ordinance be repealed. Marshall City Attorney Dennis Simpson and City Administrator Nicholas Johnson said it was difficult to enforce the ordinances when complaints of unlicensed taxi services in Marshall were made. The existence of ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, where drivers use their own vehicles to pick up passengers, also complicate the issue of licensing cabs, city staff said.

Quasius said concerns about Uber and Lyft didn’t seem like a good reason to repeal the taxi ordinance. Neither company has drivers in Marshall right now, he said, and the ride-sharing companies do have insurance requirements for their drivers.

“The issue to me is a lack of effective enforcement,” of the city ordinance, Quasius said.

Marshall Taxi owner Sami Saad El-Dein said the proposal to repeal the taxi ordinance felt like the city was taking a shortcut around enforcement.

“I think it’s a terrible choice, in the first place because it is a public safety issue,” Saad El-Dein said. Having taxi licensing requirements can help screen out unsafe operators and protect vulnerable passengers, he said.

Quasius said insurance requirements are another necessary protection.

“If people are hurt (in a crash), who’s going to pay for the bill?” he asked.

Quasius said the city ordinances could be updated to include businesses like Uber, but they shouldn’t be repealed.

“We do need some basic protections,” he said.

Quasius and Saad El-Dein both said they plan to attend the hearing at today’s council meeting.

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