Shuttles undercut taxis, drivers say

With their cars parked on the lawn of the City-County Building, taxicab drivers told the Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday night that unlicensed shuttle operators hurt them by undercutting their business.

The drivers, many wearing bright yellow polo shirts, dotted the audience at a public hearing about a transportation study the city commissioned months ago about Salt Lake's taxi industry.

Driver after driver told the council that the three major cab companies in Salt Lake City — Ute Cab, Yellow Cab and City Cab — offer clean, efficient, friendly service, even as their opponents said otherwise.

Most comments were directed at the study by Ray Mundy, which recommended opening taxi licenses for franchising that would allow market demand to determine which companies operated and how many taxis they had. Lawyers for the cab companies argued that franchising taxi licenses was illegal, and drivers said it was unnecessary — franchising would only cramp successful businesses and threaten the livelihood of men and women supporting their families, many said.

Yet shuttle operators, who operate with a business license but are not permitted to pick up fares within Salt Lake City, said they provide a valuable public service with higher standards than cab companies.

One company in particular, Valley Shuttle, was held up by many as an example of a "gypsy" operator — one that supposedly ducks beneath regulations and takes business from licensed cab companies. But Valley Shuttle's owner, Saleem Afridi, said all the attention showed his operation knows how to treat customers.

"When my name is mentioned three or four times in a short period of time by the mayor of Salt Lake City and the council, obviously Valley Shuttle is doing something good," Afridi said.

The cab companies are trying to undercut his business, Afridi said. "What they're trying to do is strong-arming. They're like the Taliban of Salt Lake City."

Activists from the disabled community said that taxi companies have not responded to numerous requests and litigation seeking ADA-accessible vans with lifts that can accommodate wheelchairs and medical equipment. Mundy said that greater competition among the companies would encourage that accommodation.

Steve Lindburg, who operates the Salt Lake City Center Hilton, said that regardless of City Council action, the taxis that transport visitors from the airport to downtown hotels need to work on their service.

"If the driver's too comfortable to get out of the cab to put a bag in, it doesn't make a great impression in growing our tourism industry," Lindburg said. "We're all in it together. I think there's room for more partnership."

The City Council did not make a decision but continued the issue to a future meeting.

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E-mail: kswinyard@desnews.com