Ride-sharing taxis not coming to Key West soon

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Electing to kick the can down the road, Key West City Commissioners agreed to wait for state legislators to rule on the legality of ride-sharing companies instead of making the decision themselves.

At a June 15 workshop on whether to reconsider allowing ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft to operate in Key West, an overflow crowd of people came out strongly against the proposal. And commissioners, while not taking a vote, agreed to wait for Florida state legislators to take the first step. Tallahassee legislators have discussed the issue in their past two sessions without taking action.

While agreeing that the local cab industry in Key West needs improvement – complaints about overcharging, unavailability, dirty cabs and questionable drivers were cited – opening the door to competition was largely denounced by over 40 speakers at the workshop, most of whom were either cab drivers or cab company owners. At times, the debate became quite passionate.

“Uber is not a good fit [for Key West]. It will swamp our already overcrowded streets with outsiders trying to make a quick buck,” said Ronald Newton. “Uber will stick its corporate straw into our city’s economic egg and suck until there is nothing left but the shell.”

“The slices of the pie are thin enough,” said Javier Garcia, a 20-year cab driver veteran.

“We all have skin in the game,” added another 20-year cab driver. “There are thousands of jobs at stake.”

Several of the speakers said that instead of empowering local car owners to work for Uber or Lyft, out-of-town ride-sharing drivers from Miami would come down to Key West on the weekends to work. Other speakers lauded the local knowledge cab drivers deliver to tourists and their helpfulness in finding lost animals.

But there was a small and equally committed contingent of speakers who said Uber and the other ride-sharing options would improve service and lower costs for passengers. Janet Hinkle, president of The Studios of Key West, said she usually pays $20 – including tip – for a cab ride from her Old Town home to the Key West International Airport.

“I can take an Uber car from downtown Miami out to Miami Beach, a trip that is twice as far, for twelve bucks. Uber has enjoyed critical acclaim and success in other communities because it is a better product,” she said.

Local resident Michael Vernon said that he was not for or against ride-sharing companies. However, there is a critical transportation problem in Key West, he said, especially during events such as Fantasy Fest. He advocated allowing more taxi licenses in Key West to help lessen the traffic problems.

“There are times when it is very difficult to call a cab and have one come within 30 minutes,” he said.

Several commissioners acknowledged there are frequent complaints about taxi service in Key West. And Commissioner Sam Kaufman pointed out that of the 48 or 49 speakers at the workshop, 40 were connected to the city cab industry, meaning the workshop debate did not represent a full range of community opinion.

“I can tell you that out there, there are a lot of people that really want to have alternate transportation. And I’m one of them. I want to reliably be able to count on getting from New Town to Old Town – that’s all I want – in a clean, safe ride.”

But a majority of commissioners, Clayton Lopez, Jimmy Weekley, Billy Wardlow and Mayor Craig Cates, agreed that waiting for direction at the state level, as well as the resolution of several lawsuits both for and against ride-sharing in other communities, was the prudent way to go.

“The city cannot make an ordinance that supersedes a state law. So we have to be real careful,” said Lopez.

“We need to know what those [state] regulations are,” said Weekley, adding, “Key West is such a small community. We know one another. We work with one another. We socialize with one another. To put our citizens at any kind of economic disadvantage, I think is the wrong thing to do.”

And Mayor Cates told the assembled taxi drivers that the push for Uber in Key West is not their fault.

“The fault lies on the guys that own the companies that you rent from. They have a poor quality cab that they’re putting out there and charge you a considerably amount of money to use it. Those owners, get their business in order and get a more quality cab out there,” he said.

The standing room only crowd applauded Cates’ remarks.

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