Taxi riders’ ‘Bill of Rights’ debated last year

BOSTON
10.24.2007

Taxi owners and drivers expressed concern over a City Council resolution that would create a “Bill of Rights” for cab passengers, while asking that their own rights be given more consideration.

The measure, sponsored by Councilor Michael Ross, would create a “Bill of Rights” that would allow taxi passengers to choose their own destination route, prohibit the driver from speaking on a cell phone or listening to the radio, and control the temperature inside the vehicle. The bill of rights would be posted inside the city’s licensed cabs.

Yesterday, Ross and other city councilors met at City Hall with taxi drivers and owners, a union representative and Mark Cohen, director of licensing for the Boston Police Department’s Hackney Division, which oversees taxi-related issues and complaints. Ross, who filed a similar bill in 2005, said a bill of rights would be welcoming for visitors and tourists, as well as those who may not feel empowered to question a driver.

Meanwhile, several taxi drivers present at the meeting said most of the 10 “rights” listed are either already being followed or out of their control. In addition, one driver said not all of the taxi vans have automatic controls for the rear windows, while another cab owner questioned the liability issues that could stem from giving passengers “rights.”

“I’m not opposed to providing safe passage,” said Donna Blythe-Shaw of the United Steelworkers Union, which represents roughly 1,200 local taxi drivers. “But, I’m concerned of the ramifications that a bill of rights would have on the drivers.”

Several others requested that taxi drivers themselves also get a bill of rights, an idea Ross said has already been discussed among some of his colleagues. Ross also said he’d give serious consideration to establishing a task force to examine bills of rights for both sides.

Other cities, such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco, have adopted their own bills of rights for taxi passengers. Cohen said many of the rights outlined in Ross’s resolution are already rights that cab customers have, but publicly displaying them in cabs throughout the city would be just another tool to provide quality transportation and “shouldn’t be viewed [by drivers] as a threat.”

Today, Councilor Maureen Feeney will also introduce a measure calling for a separate hearing to discuss the rights of taxicab drivers.