Glut of cab companies
upsets local taxi owners
By clare MARie celano
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Are there too many taxis operating in the borough?
Some taxi company owners seem to think so and came to the Borough Council’s Oct. 7 meeting to voice their concerns about the situation to officials.
During the summer, at least 15 cab drivers, including representatives from Juan’s Transportation Service, Leon’s Taxi Service and Freehold Taxi, attended a council meeting to tell borough officials they were having a hard time "doing business" in the borough.
Taxi owners complained they were losing business because of what they said were the unregistered taxi drivers in the town.
In response to the situation, borough officials came up with a way to identify legally registered cabs.
The use of a medallion, to be affixed to every legally registered cab, was implemented, making the identification of those that were legally registered much more apparent to police and to customers.
Now taxi owners say they are having a difficult time making a living because, in the words of taxi owner George Hendry, "There are just too many [taxis] to even count."
Hendry attended to the meeting to ask council members if it would be possible to control the number of cabs operating in the borough.
Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina addressed the issue and told the taxi owners in attendance at the meeting that a meeting of municipal officials and taxi owners would be held to discuss concerns and exchange ideas.
Up until 2000 and throughout that year, there were 10 registered cabs in the town and no one owner was allowed to have more than six drivers in his employ, according to Borough Clerk Linda Cottrell.
Cottrell said that the ordinance was amended on Dec. 18, 2000, to authorize two additional cab owners. The taxi licenses were issued in 2001, allowing 12 cabs to operate on borough streets.
The clerk explained that the ordinance was again amended on Sept. 4, 2001 and now does not specify a quota of allowable cabs, so essentially, there is no limit to the number of cabs riding around town, a fact which distresses some taxi owners.
In 2002, there are nine taxi cab owners recorded by the borough. These owners account for the operation of 37 cabs.
According to Cottrell, the borough now has 65 licensed taxi drivers in town. Not all are driving, but they are allowed to if hired by one of the companies.