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
Trump says he’s fighting crime. Illinois Gov. Pritzker sees a power grab before 2026
Steve Inskeep speaks with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker about President Trump's threats to send National Guard troops to Chicago and the future of the Democratic Party.
Who is Lachlan Murdoch, the anointed media tycoon?
His position in leading News Corp. and Fox is now secure, as his father ends a dramatic succession battle. Lachlan grew up in New York City but has lived in Australia for much of his adult life.
You’re more likely to reach for that soda when it’s hot outside
People drink more sugary beverages when it's hot, researchers found, significantly increasing their sugar intake. That impact could grow as climate change raises the world's temperatures.
Trump’s control of the D.C. police is due to expire tonight. Then what?
Trump needs an extension from Congress to control D.C. police for more than 30 days. Some Republican lawmakers are focused on pursuing legislation that would exert power over D.C. in other ways.
33 million voters have been run through a Trump administration citizenship check
Tens of millions of voters have had their information run through the tool — a striking portion of the U.S. public, considering little has been made public about the tool's accuracy or data security.
Poland says it shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace
Poland said Wednesday that it and its NATO allies had shot down Russian drones that violated Polish airspace in what it called an "act of aggression" as Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine.
