City of Dallas Transportation for Hire Meeting Today, 1-3pm (city hall, credit card)

[cnevitt]

Today's meeting is in Rm 6ES at Dallas City Hall. Interested parties may very well find out a couple of things; Where, and how, the (pardon me) rubber meets the road...and how much longer it will take before it is actually voted on by council members.

I was at a meeting earlier this month, and one thing is certain--this level playing field that they are trying to create is going to change taxi service. Gone, from what I understand, will be the days of turning down short trips, not accepting credit cards, creating some sort of tests for new drivers where they can prove that they have some idea of where they are going, that there will be regular inspections of cab worthiness as well as cleanliness, of (I suppose) both cars and drivers. All for hire transportation will be required to provide riders either a written or digital receipt with details of costs, mileage, pickup and delivery points--which should work
to end non metered rides where drivers charge whatever they want to. They are also going to have drug testing, which I hope will be randomized, because that is the only way it is effective.

There will also have to post in the vehicle the drivers name, photo, and instructions on where to voice concerns and complaints. I drove a taxi here for nearly a decade in the 70s and 80s, and back then the City of Dallas didn't play games when it came to complaints--they would pull your permit in a hurry if they thought what you were doing undermined their efforts to turn Dallas into one of the first line convention destinations in America. That is the right attitude, because it should trickle down, or up, to the service the citizens of DFW get day in, day our.