Fort Smith directors to weigh taxicab rates

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 March 30, 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, 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.”

“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 the 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.