Yesterday, Hoboken Councilman (and Assemblyman) Ruben Ramos sent a letter to the Commissioner of New York’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, citing “unfair” rates taxi drivers are charging customers for “short” trips across the Hudson. (see complete letter after the jump.)

What are your thoughts about this?

For one thing, it’s NYC law to allow taxi drivers to negotiate and “agree” to a flat fare to destinations outside of NYC limits. Call it “free market” if you must. Apparently, the rates that drivers are charging are what they deem to be fair, or in-line with what they’d stand to lose by leaving the city.

§1-73 Trips Beyond the City.

§2-35 Trips Beyond the City.
(a) For a trip beyond the limits of the City of New York, except for the counties of Westchester or Nassau, or the facilities of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey at Newark Airport, the following shall be applicable:
(1) the driver shall not start the trip until agreement has been made on a flat rate, as set forth in Owner Rule §1-73;

§1-73 Trips Beyond the City.
(a) For a trip beyond the limits of the City of New York, except for the Counties of Westchester or Nassau, or the facilities of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey at Newark Airport, the fare shall be a flat rate. (A flat rate is a definite amount fixed between the driver and the passenger at the start of the trip. For example, “$20″ is a flat rate. “Double the meter” is not a flat rate and is not the proper fare.)

This is where the problem begins, and becomes complicated. It’s not our job to dictate what other city governments put into law, especially across borders. They handle their jurisdiction quite well as it is. You don’t see other cities writing letters to Hoboken telling us how much to charge for a trip to Jersey City, or Weehawken, etc. That too, is “negotiated.”

Once we start meddling with cross-border rules and regulations, you’re going to have a giant mess on your hands because other cities will want their piece of the action too.

One way to overcome that might be to have a giant “Tri-State TLC” or something along those lines, which would be an entire separate “governing body” with rules, rates, etc. for a much larger area. Of course, that’d be yet another layer of government to muck up. You ready for a third, fourth, fifth job, Ruben??

I think that lowering the fare would have minimal impact reducing drunk driving or fueling the economy… I think it’s just a political stunt to give Ramos press airtime.

How would you handle this situation? How would you execute putting this into law? Is there a simple solution?

Read Ruben’s letter to the TLC after the jump.

http://hoboken411.com/archives/11204