Three people stood before the Saratoga Springs City Council last night and asked them to lower Taxicab insurance rates as the commissioners considered a resolution that would change two rules for 24 months. The resolution that eventually passed would allow cabs up to 13 years old to run on the city’s streets; currently the age limit is 10 years. The resolution allows cab companies to forego the signage—the company’s name and phone number—that is normally needed on the outside of the cab.
Jim Pasquerill, a mechanic, told the council that he was happy to see that older cars will be allowed, but signage costs only about $40 a cab, so the moratorium there is really no help.
Commissioner of Accounts John Franck, who oversees insurance for the cab industry, said the city’s Safety Commission had no intention of lowering liability insurance levels which have been the same since 2018, at $100,000 per accident and $300,000 in aggregate. He has fielded many calls and emails about the issue, but said that people were being told false information on social media.
[Read our first story on this, here.]
The issue came to a boil over the weekend after Saratoga Taxi owner Larry Kupper (pronounced “Cooper”) told his clients and staff that if the insurance rates did not drop, he would be forced to close his doors. He had written the city council asking that they put a moratorium on insurance requirements for two years and drop them to the state-mandated level of $50,000.
He told FoothillsBusinessDaily.com that his premiums at one point were $250,000 a year, though they are lower now. Staff in the Accounts department and others in the insurance industry say the premiums on cab companies are often high and complicated because the insurance companies adjust their rates based on the condition and age of cars and the driving history of cabbies and the company.
If Saratoga Taxi has exceedingly higher rates than others, it might be because their drivers or cars pose a larger risk, city staff has said. Kupper countered that he follows the rules and has six cabs registered in an expensive city, while others have just one car registered in the city.
Saratoga Taxi’s head dispatcher, Alison Manning, said Kupper has stopped operations, but is asking staff to wait a week to see what happens.
She said that many on the staff of a couple dozen, down from about 60 pre-pandemic, have worked in the cab industry for years and know little else. Some are older or have health problems that Kupper lets them work around, while earning a decent wage, she said.
“Before the pandemic, we were making money,” she said, but “everything has gone up: gas, oil, maintenance.”
Saratoga Taxi stayed open through the pandemic, she said. They delivered doctors, nurses and patients to the hospital or office, she said. They have cabs that include video cameras and other safety features that other companies do not have.
In a short interview, she focused a lot on the needs of the sick and the poor. For ride hailing apps, the person needs a smartphone and a credit card, and the people who need cabs the most usually don’t have the credit card. Skidmore has an agreement with the company, called the “Taxi Ride Back to Campus Program” that gives a free ride to students when the CDTA buses do not, she said.
As well, during times such as the track season, Uber and Lyft charge surge prices while taxis still charge just $6 for many rides in the city.
“We are substantial in the community,” she said.
Franck, whose term will end this year and he is not seeking reelection, said he is not discounting their plight, but said also that some other cab companies—more than a dozen operate in the city—have said they will step up and cover what Saratoga Taxi cannot do.
He admitted that he was not sure exactly how all the most needy will be accommodated.
Glens Falls has been revising its taxicab rules to raise the rates that cabbie receive while also making sure the people who need a cab the most can afford it. They have largely landed on a system that will raise rates but give seniors and the needy subsidized tokens to pay for rides.
Commissioner Franck in Saratoga, along with his staff, see the issue much more as a tectonic shift in the economy, as the world moves away from cab companies to ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft. He frequently referred to buggy whip manufacturers when cars were first mass-produced.
“I don’t think cabs will totally leave the city,” Franck said, but their footprint will be smaller.