The Metropolitan Transportation Licensing Commission voted to advise Metro Council to amend Metro code 6.72 to allow either traditional hardwired taximeters or app-based “smart” meters for taxi service, and to omit the sections of the draft ordinance that would have set a mandatory transition deadline for all companies.

Commissioners, staff and taxi industry representatives spent more than an hour debating whether the change would reduce passenger overcharging, how quickly companies could afford new hardware and whether permitting the technology would create a de facto advantage for providers that already use app-based systems. MTLC staff framed the proposal as both a clarification to existing law and a step toward “a better standard of accountability” by enabling smart-meter technology, which staff said is in use in cities such as New York, Seattle and Chicago.

"Smart meters would ... give me a price and it would tell me what that price is," MTLC staff said while explaining the consumer-transparency benefits of an app-based system. That transparency was the main argument in favor: if a passenger can see a pre-calculated fare on a phone, they can more easily contest an overcharge at the end of a ride.

Industry speakers were split. Doug Trimble, manager at Yellowcab, told the commission, "Equipment change is not going to solve anything," arguing that drivers who choose not to run meters could also avoid turning on smart-meter apps, and that many taxi owners will face substantial installation costs. A representative who identified himself as Hassan, speaking for Chekat Kap and Music-city Checker, said the current installed meter and top-light equipment costs about $1,200 per vehicle (installation and wiring), and added the exterior decal and labor take the total per vehicle higher.

Commissioners asked staff to provide additional data on several topics before a mandatory timetable is set: hard-dollar estimates of initial installation costs per vehicle and for representative fleets; examples from other cities showing how the technology reduced overcharging; and clarification on whether MTLC would have access to app-generated trip records when investigating complaints.

After debate, a motion passed directing MTLC staff to forward the ordinance package to Metro Council but with subsections that mandated an implementation deadline removed. Commissioners also requested that staff reintroduce the transition timeline (if any) later, with additional cost and implementation information. The commission indicated it would add a May agenda item to revisit any mandatory transition schedule.

The commission did not adopt a mandatory conversion date at this meeting; staff had proposed January 1, 2027 (with discussion of alternate dates ranging from July 2027 to January 2028), but the commission removed those deadline provisions for Council consideration and asked for more information.