Complaints of gouging arise in prolific Iowa City cab industry

Catching a cab in downtown Iowa City may be easy, though not necessarily on your pocketbook.

Compared with Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, which have much larger populations, Iowa City has more cabs, more cab companies and wildly fluctuating fares.

Iowa City has 112 cabs split between 19 companies, whereas Des Moines has 108 cabs between three companies and Cedar Rapids has 48 cabs between four companies.

Rates in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines are regulated by the city, and companies are required to have rate meters. Iowa City does neither.

“It's totally unregulated (in Iowa City). People are taken advantage of,” said City Council member Connie Champion.

She said the issue has arisen each year for the council. Champion believes it's worth another serious review, though, in light of concerns.

The city's taxi regulations were last altered by the council in 2007. Regulations that mandate companies have matching cars were eliminated, and requiring rate meters was overruled.

Some cab companies say the policies don't do enough to maintain a professional standard.

Champion said city officials don't want to overregulate the business, but the current system has made it easy for companies to dramatically fluctuate rates depending on the day and time.

Roger Bradley, manager of Yellow Cab, wrote a letter to the City Council last month, expressing his concerns over the “explosion” of cab companies, which continue to pop up in the city.

Since 2007, there have been four companies launched and 28 cabs added.

Bradley said the city has made it too easy to join the business, and some are just looking to make easy money on the weekend.

“The problem is not the rates; it's honoring the rates,” he said.

Most cabs charge between $2.50 and $4 for the first mile and about $2 for every additional mile, with an extra $1 for each additional person.

In a spot check of 13 companies between midnight and 1 a.m. Feb. 18 in downtown Iowa City, only five companies provided rates that matched their rates on file at the City Clerk's Office. For a fare that should have cost between $9 and $12, prices as high as $16 to $18 were quoted.

Pete Johnson, co-owner of Marco's Taxicab Co., said he believes having stronger requirements - like rate meters, uniform vehicle colors and 24-hour dispatch stations, so drivers aren't picking up fares while on their cell phones - would increase quality of service.

The city has complaint forms if someone feels a cab was unsafe or violated their rates, but Johnson said the laborious task of filing it with the Police Department keeps most people from doing so.

City Council member Mike Wright agreed city officials could do more to ensure a better system.

“When you're talking in terms of rates, I know people who have been gouged. I have,” he said.

The issue will likely be brought up at the council's work session Monday.