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Committee advances changes to taxi licensing to extend vehicle life and require driver accident reporting
Summary
The Transportation & Environment Committee reviewed Bill 19-24, which would raise allowable taxi service life from 8 to 10 years (and up to 12 years for hybrid, electric, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles) and require drivers to report accidents to both license holders and MCDOT; the committee voted to move the bill to full council.
Chair Jerry Glass opened the committee's review of Bill 19-24, saying the bill "would increase the permissible age of taxi cabs from 8 to 10 years" and would allow select hybrid, electric and wheelchair-accessible vehicles to remain in service for up to 12 years.
The bill would also change accident-reporting responsibilities: under current practice drivers report incidents to vehicle owners, who then report to MCDOT; the bill would require drivers to submit accident reports directly to the Department of Transportation as well. "We're trying to ask is at the time the driver reports the accident to the PVL owners, they also report to MCDOT," Sam Oji, deputy general manager for Transit Services, told the committee.
Chair Glass read the bill's racial equity and social justice impact statement, which warns that without this legislation the county risks "job stability for taxicab drivers who are disproportionately Black," increased costs for taxi companies owned by people of color, and reduced availability of accessible transportation options in the county.
Councilmember Balcom asked whether app-based drivers (Uber, Lyft) have similar reporting requirements; MCDOT said those services are regulated by the state Public Service Commission and do not report to the county. The agency also described enforcement tools: drivers can lose their county taxicab license for repeated at-fault accidents or accumulating too many points.
A clarifying staff amendment was noted to mark the bill as expedited because the current temporary extension sunsets at the end of the year. With that clarification and expressions of support from Councilmember Balcom and Chair Glass, the committee moved the bill to the full council for consideration.
The committee did not take a formal roll-call vote on a final ordinance at this meeting; the committee recorded support and referred the measure to full council for a future session.
