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Block Island taxi owners ask New Shoreham to regulate hotel and restaurant shuttles
Summary
Taxi owners and a hired investigator told the New Shoreham council that hotel and restaurant shuttle services are operating beyond guest transport, accepting tips or indirect payment and undercutting holders of the town's limited taxi licenses; the council agreed to consult its solicitor and place the topic on a future agenda.
NEW SHOREHAM, R.I.
Taxi owners and drivers pressed the New Shoreham Town Council on Nov. 17 to adopt rules for hotel and restaurant shuttle services they say are competing unfairly with licensed taxicabs and eroding year-round livelihoods.
In a presentation to the three-member panel, an attorney for taxi owners traced the town's authority to a 1929 Rhode Island statute that exempts the island and to town ordinance provisions that established a commission and set out licensing rules, including 32 taxi licenses and separate limousine and bus licenses. "No person shall transport passengers for hire in any motor vehicle without first obtaining a . . . license from the town clerk, upon which approval of the town council," the attorney summarized from the ordinance.
Why it matters: Taxi licenses are limited and were structured, the owners said, to sustain year-round service by resident drivers. Owners told the council that shuttle vans run by hotels and restaurants frequently pick up and drop off non-guests, advertise "complimentary shuttle services" and accept tips or other indirect payments, which they say amounts to unregulated vehicle-for-hire activity.
Evidence presented: Steve O'Donnell, president of Steve O'Donnell Associates, described spot observations made June 30, July 8 and July 12. He said drivers at Aldo's and Champlin's told his associate rides were "no charge," yet the associate observed drivers accept $5 tips and passengers exchange cash. "They advised my associate on that day there's no charge for the transportation," O'Donnell said, and later recounted seeing passengers give cash to a driver he identified as Rafa.
Operators' responses: Sam Payne of Paine's Dock said his shuttle was bought to reduce parking and traffic at the dock and to serve customers; he said his drivers hold chauffeur's licenses and that he limits pickups to marinas, the airport and restaurants. "My main purpose of buying the shuttle was to alleviate the wonderful parking problem we have down at the dock," Payne said.
Other speakers urged a narrowly tailored approach. John Cullen, a taxi owner, said existing taxi safeguards ' criminal background checks, chauffeur's licenses and annual vehicle inspections ' protect rider safety and should inform any shuttle rules. "We're not saying that the courtesy shuttles should be banned, but they need to be regulated and need to provide their passengers with a safe mode of transportation just like the taxis do," he said.
A shuttle driver, Amy Doran, who identified herself as driving for Sands, said many courtesy drivers follow practices she described as respectful and courteous and urged rules that require standards rather than a ban. "It is frustrating that people have taken advantage or aren't following being courteous," she said.
Council response and next steps: Council members asked for legal guidance before drafting any ordinance. One member said an ordinance requiring chauffeur's licenses, for example, would need the solicitor's input and possibly legislative action to be "belt and suspenders" legally. The council agreed to place the topic on a future agenda and to consult the town solicitor and other research on whether state definitions or local ordinance language govern shuttle operations.
No formal regulatory action was taken at the Nov. 17 meeting; a procedural motion to adjourn closed the session.
What remains unresolved: The council did not vote on new rules and did not direct a specific timeline for ordinance drafting. Taxi owners seek limits on stops, proof of insurance and residency qualifications for drivers; shuttle operators seek clarity that allows limited guest and parking-service transports. The legal question the council asked the solicitor to address is whether indirect compensation (tips, bundled lodging fees) triggers the town's vehicle-for-hire rules under existing ordinance language.
The meeting ended with the council thanking presenters and saying the matter would return for further consideration.
