Athens taxicabs have long been regulated by local government—vetting drivers for criminal records, requiring ride logs, vehicle inspection and 24-hour service anywhere in ACC—but a new state law could complicate that, county officials say. That law legalizes (and regulates, to some extent) app-based ride services like Lyft and Uber, but also limits local regulation of traditional cabs, defined as vehicles that use a "taxi meter.”

But most Athens cabs don't use taxi meters and often carry multiple passengers to different destinations, which would make meter use difficult. And local cab companies say that, at $2,000 a vehicle, they can't afford to add them. Still, "I think we need to move in the direction of requiring taxi meters," ACC Attorney Bill Berryman told commissioners on the Legislative Review Committee last week. Without meters, as the new law is written, ACC loses its authority to regulate cabs.

"This is a significant safety issue," said Berryman. "In this case, [legislators] have really narrowly clamped down on what local governments can do." Although he reached out to Athens' state senators while the law was being considered, "we… just didn't get a whole lot of help,” Berryman said.

ACC interim Police Chief Carter Greene (whose department has two full-time officers regulating taxis) told Flagpole that Athens got involved fairly late in the legislative process. “I think that had a lot to do with it,” he said. Multiple-passenger taxi vans fill a particular need for Athens, he said, after the bars close and on game days, and Athens needs to be able to regulate them.  

Greene met with local cab companies several weeks ago, he said; one company owner told him "he'd sell all his vans and go to sedans" if he were required to add meters, he told Flagpole. Golden Taxi owner Hilal Adres, who attended last week's committee meeting (as did other company owners), said after the meeting that local cabs already follow "a lot of rules" while losing business to Uber and other ride services that are less regulated. Those services are quite active in Athens, Greene said.

Requiring meters in local taxis just to meet requirements of the state's legal language "is going to cause issues" for taxi companies, Greene said. "We would postpone the implementation date, hoping that we can get the law changed,” he said.

Arguments between cab drivers and student passengers, especially over fare amounts, are common. (Greene has suggested that drivers require payment up front, but they usually don't.) Passengers also complain about the condition of the cars, but the state has removed authority to regulate that. And drivers have been subjected to racist remarks and to passengers throwing up. Occasionally, there have been accusations of robbery or rape by drivers; requiring cameras in cabs was suggested, but committee members seemed to want to leave that up to the companies.

In addition, the committee will consider dropping the current requirement for two-way radios; making sure drivers serve all riders as required (not just short trips); exploring different fare structures; designating downtown cab stands in addition to the one at the Arch; and looking again at the feasibility of running late-night buses.