Roseburg takes 1st step in changes to taxicab code
ROSEBURG, Ore. (KMTR) -- Roseburg City Council has taken the first steps in the process to change city code regulating taxi services, but one local business is worried about a negative impact.
At a council meeting on Monday, March 8th, 2010, Roseburg City Councilors passed the first reading of proposed changes to the city's taxicab ordinance. The changes are primarily focused on technology. Currently, Roseburg has one of the most restrictive taxi codes in the state. It came after years of problems with two now defunct cab businesses. The code was last changed in 1996. It requires cabs to dispatch calls on a two-way radio system and charge fares through a taxi meter, which is calibrated by the State of Oregon.
Proposed changes to the taxi cab ordinance would relax those two restrictions surrounding two-way radios and taxi fare meters. The new ordinance allows cab companies to use a GPS device instead of a taxi fare meter. It also allows taxi operators to use "push-to-talk," walkie-talkie style cell phones to dispatch calls, instead of two-way radios.
A Roseburg business man, Oggy Zohar is driving force behind the changes. He says he wants to start a taxicab business, but feels he should not be tied to the older technology required in the old ordinance. Zohar wants to operate his cabs with GPS systems to calculate fares, which would allow customers to know what they're paying up-front.
Meanwhile, a long-time Roseburg business, and currently the only taxicab in the Roseburg area, Sunshine-Douglas County Taxi says its worried about what the changes will bring. Primarily, its concerned that new taxi business will come and go, without providing a quality or reliable service. Taj Gombart is a representative of Sunshine Douglas County Taxi. Gombart says,
"There's nothing wrong with competition. It's the lowering of the safety bar that comes with changing ordinance like that and that can lead to a lot of companies coming and going and coming and going and making an unreliable service for Roseburg."
Zohar says Roseburg needs another service to keep things competitive. "Just options, that's all I'm looking for. The City of Roseburg, if you actually read the code and what their intention is, the intention is to be business friendly and go for innovation and be a leader. People keep coming back to me with needs and needs and needs and that's exactly why we need a second cab company and little bit of competition to shake things up."
At Monday's city council meeting, Zohar provided a letter from the Southern Oregon District of the OLCC in support of changes to increase cab service. A Roseburg area bar owner also testified on behalf of the changes to taxicab code.
Roseburg City Council passed the first reading of proposed changes to the ordinance on Monday, with Mayor Larry Rich casting the tie breaking vote. Two councilors were absent from the meeting. A second reading of the ordinance changes is scheduled for Roseburg City Council on April 12th, 2010. If that passes, the ordinance will likely take effect in early May.
Zohar says if the ordinance doesn't pass, he'll continue with plans to start his own cab service.
