Council holds special conference on airport pickups, directs meeting with Port Authority and state partners

City of Newark Council members on April 29 held a special conference focused on complaints that out‑of‑state drivers and app-based services have been picking up fares at Newark Liberty International Airport in ways city taxi officials describe as illegal. The council heard presentations from Richard Kirkland, Director of the Taxi Division; Pamela Butterfield, Chief Transportation Inspector; and Miguel Dorsenville, president of the local taxi association, and directed staff to arrange a prompt meeting with the Port Authority and state law‑enforcement partners.

Richard Kirkland told the council the Taxi Division has been meeting with the Port Authority and has requested that the authority stop illegal pickups by drivers coming from New York. “We’re here today to talk about this illegal activity that’s going on at the airport and around the airport in Port Authority and with Lyft and Uber drivers at the terminals,” Kirkland said. He said the city had requested a written commitment from the Port Authority and that Port Authority staff indicated they would comply with written requests but could not unilaterally alter app-company geofencing.

Pamela Butterfield, Chief Transportation Inspector, said the division conducts annual inspections and that a detective and a sergeant perform routine enforcement work; she asked residents to report incidents with visible identifying numbers on taxicabs to aid enforcement. The division noted taxi vehicles carry base/association identifiers; Butterfield asked that witnesses capture those numbers when reporting alleged violations.

Miguel Dorsenville, representing the Newark taxi association, and other taxi-industry speakers argued the activity reduces fares and undercuts local medallion drivers. Dorsenville said app and out‑of‑state drivers pick up passengers at the airport and take them to New York at lower rates, which he said local drivers cannot match because of insurance and operating costs. Eric Pennington, the city’s business administrator, told the council the issue requires a coordinated meeting with the Port Authority and the State Police to identify enforcement options.

Council direction and next steps Council members instructed the clerk to schedule a meeting as soon as possible that includes the Port Authority, the Department of Public Safety/State Police (to address jurisdiction on Route 78), the Taxi Division and other city enforcement partners. Council members and staff emphasized three concurrent tracks: - enforcement and on-site monitoring (documenting incidents, providing identifying numbers and increasing visible enforcement at terminals and surrounding roadways); - coordination with the Port Authority to seek written commitments and removal of app geofencing that enables out‑of‑state pickups; and - review of taxi ordinances and fare rules to identify regulatory changes (including rate review) that could protect local medallion drivers.

Council members asked staff to document incidents (photographs, time and vehicle identifiers) so city enforcement and Port Authority partners can build cases and to report back on a proposed meeting date and agenda. No formal ordinance change was voted at the conference; members directed staff to bring options after the interagency meeting.