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BY KEITH EDWARDS
Staff Writer 10/07/2008

AUGUSTA -- City Center had to be one of the easiest places on Earth to hail a taxicab Monday night.

Taxi operators sparred with the City Council, and each other, about a new taxi ordinance and rate structure proposed by Police Chief Wayne McCamish and endorsed by a council subcommittee, during a lengthy debate Monday.

Most cabbies said they were in favor of a proposed new rate increase in city ordinance, which sets the maximum rates customers may be charged for a fare.

However, they disagreed on how fares should be calculated.

Most of the debate was between proponents of the current "zoned" system, including longtime city business Al's and Double R's Taxi, and advocates for the new proposed system of charging by actual mileage traveled, including representatives of Brothers Transportation.

In June, taxi operators approached the council to ask that rates, which they said hadn't been increased since 1995, be increased, especially as the price of gasoline skyrocketed.

The city's taxicab ordinance bases fares in large part on a system that assumes most rides start at the intersection of Water and Bridge streets. Fares are based upon geographic zones, charging riders a set fee to go from one specific zone to anywhere else within another.

Attorney Ronald Bourget, representing Al's, said the zoned system started about the time Al's started in Augusta, in 1946. He said the company, as well as Al's drivers and customers, rely on the current system and don't want to change.

One of its strengths, proponents noted, is riders know how much their fare will be before they even get in the cab. A mileage system, they argued, could result in varying fares, if drivers have to take a detour.

"A customer on a fixed income can call Shop and Save and ask how much for a gallon of milk," said Sean Collyer, of Fare Transportation. "With the zone system, they can do the same thing."

But proponents of a mileage-based, point-to-point system said it is easier for consumers to understand how their fares are determined.

Councilor William Stokes, chairman of the council subcommittee that brought the new taxi ordinance to councilors, noted the ordinance simply sets maximum rates.

"You can use any formula you want, as long as it's less than the maximum rate," Stokes said.

The proposed new ordinance would raise the minimum fare from $2.50 to $3.50 and increases the rate for the first mile, also from $2.50 to $3.50.

David Doyon, operator of Brothers Transportation, suggested separating the rate increase from the other changes in the ordinance.

"If the rates had only been increased, it would have been two months now we'd be recovering some of the money we lost," Doyon said. "I haven't heard anybody say they wouldn't agree to those rates."

The issue is likely to see more debate at next week's council meeting.

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com

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