Iowa City considers new taxi rules

Iowa City taxicabs may soon be required to have meters and to handle dispatching from an office.

A majority of City Council members  also said at a work session Monday night that they were interested in requiring companies to have their cabs in service 24 hours a day seven days a week and have at least four vehicles to start a company.

Formal action on the proposals will come at a meeting later this summer.

The meters would help reduce instances of overcharging, council members said. They also want to do away with special-event rates.

Some companies currently handle dispatching from their vehicles, which a majority of council members said they considered unsafe.

The council said it was not interested in allowing taxis to have digital signs that display advertisements.