Taxi Driver Online

County taxi regulations proposal reaches dead end

A controversial proposal that called for Muskegon County to regulate taxicab operators countywide has run out of gas.

County Clerk Nancy Waters said she submitted a report to the county board in June suggesting changes to the proposed ordinance. It was sent to the county’s transportation committee for review, but no discussion or action has taken place.

Waters said she has not received direction from Ken Mahoney, chairman of the county commissioners, or from Bill Gill, chairman of the transportation committee, on the ordinance.

Waters fell short of saying the ordinance is “dead” but describes it as “dormant.”

“Until (the county board) takes action, or gives me further direction, it would be considered dormant.”

After reviewing the proposals earlier this year, Mahoney said there was little interest among county commissioners to pursue taxicab regulations.

Mahoney said the expense of overseeing taxicabs would have been a drain on the county.

“It’s probably not going to move forward at this point,” Mahoney said. “It doesn’t seem to be something that had problems in the past year or so without regulations.”

The original ordinance called for the county to regulate taxicab fares, vehicle inspections and other aspects of operations across the county. The county would have been in charge of conducting background checks on drivers, among other responsibilities.

Supporters said the ordinance was needed because “fly-by-night” operators go unchecked because they are not registered and do not carry proper commercial insurance.

The city of Muskegon’s top taxi operations — Port City and Great Lakes Shuttle — already put their vehicles through inspections, do background checks on drivers and carry adequate insurance, officials said.

Keith McEnvoy, co-owner of Great Lakes Shuttle, said he had mixed feelings about the county’s proposal.

“I’m not a big government regulation person,” he said. “On the other hand, there was a public safety issue with some guys using their personal cars as taxis.”

After researching ordinances in cities like Kalamazoo, Waters had redrafted the proposal. Her proposal had called for the state to regulate taxicabs similar to limousine operators.

Trip fares would have been agreed upon prior to a taxi picking someone up, instead of the traditional ticking meter.

“That would have been completely unworkable,” McEnvoy said. “When you drop someone off at Meijer, how long would you wait for them to shop?”

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