It’s Actually Illegal to Hail a Cab in Birmingham
Cities around the country heavily regulate taxis and Birmingham is no different. The ordinance governing taxis, limousines and other “vehicles for hire” stretches 40 pages and covers everything from the types of credit cards taxis are supposed to accept to how frequently seats are wiped down.
But it also says cab drivers aren’t allowed to drive around looking for passengers. Also, it’s illegal for someone to hail a taxi outside of downtown or Lakeview.
Birmingham City Councilwoman Kim Rafferty, who chairs the transportation committee, says it used to be illegal everywhere in the city to hail a taxi until the city code was changed in 2012 to add those two specific neighborhoods. She says she’s working to further update the ordinance.
“There’s a lot [in the code] that didn’t make any sense,” said Rafferty. “It needs to be practical. It needs to be serviceable. And that’s what we’ve been working on.”
Rafferty says she was told the restriction on taxis cruising for passengers was put in place because people complained about cabs driving through residential areas. Similarly, taxi drivers didn’t want to be forced to pick up a passenger hailing them if they happened to be in an unsafe or questionable part of town.
Rafferty says allowing cruising and hailing is most practical, but must be balanced with safety. She says she expects taxis would gravitate to the city center and entertainment areas anyway so that doesn’t need to be spelled out in the ordinance.
The existing rules are confusing, particularly for out-of-town visitors who may expect to be able to flag a cab they see driving by.
“I’ve seen people trying to hail cabs and I’m sure they’re highly confused why they never stop,” Rafferty said. She adds the city needs to do a better job marketing this rule because nobody will read the transportation code to figure out if you can hail a taxi.
~ Andrew Yeager, June 11, 2014
| Some Taxis at Birmingham’s Airport May be Skirting the Rules
Alabama coal mine keeps digging after hundreds of fines and a fatal explosion
Following the death of a grandfather, Crimson Oak Grove Resources has left a community afraid for their homes and lives. An expert warns one resident may need to evacuate her home while she still can.
Florida’s 6-week abortion ban will have a ‘snowball effect’ on residents across the South
Abortion rights advocates say the ban will likely force many to travel farther for abortion care and endure pregnancy and childbirth against their will.
Attitudes among Alabama lawmakers softening on Medicaid expansion
Alabama is one of ten states which has not expanded Medicaid. Republican leaders have pushed back against the idea for years.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
