The high cost of an empty taxicab
Frank Dowgwilla, general manager of Yellow taxi, said that to solve the deadheading problem, authorities will have to move beyond regional licensing and devise a mechanism of some sort that entices drivers to stick around to pick up passengers where they've made drop offs. He suggested forming separate, priority queues for drivers willing to wait for return fares.
Reis noted the Port had good reason for initially forming STITA. A former port commissioner, Jack Block, once described the cab situation at Sea-Tac as a "zoo" with wide variation in the quality and condition of cabs, as well as the training and appearance of drivers.
For a time, STITA stood heads and shoulders above city cabs in terms of the condition of city cabs. But all parties acknowledge that gap has been closed, and in some respects city cab driver training now surpasses STITA's, according to Leisy.
A few months ago, Leisy helped craft a proposal the city submitted to the Port to designate a couple of three-minute taxicab stands on the upper drive. That would let dual-licensed taxicabs (those with city and county licenses) that drop off passengers at the ticket counter level to try to catch a return trip.
But in a recent interview, Reis said the Port probably cannot manage that under its contract with STITA.
Still, there are overarching calls for something substantive down the line. Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said the city is motivated to address deadheading, consistent with his boss's pledge to build a "green" taxi fleet and get away from gas guzzlers.
That's similar to the direction the Port has moved STITA. Its fleet is now made up of hybrids and converted vehicles that burn compressed natural gas, though there have been mounting struggles with conversion, along with a lack of filling stations, not to mention that Priuses sometimes lack sufficient trunk space for luggage.
In the meantime, Seattle City Council Member Jean Godden recently shepherded through a unanimously adopted ordinance aimed at expediting the death of deadheading. She called such reform "long overdue."
In a recent newsletter that alluded to deadheading, Council President Richard Conlin also noted ongoing talks with the Port "to eliminate arcane regulations."
And Port Commissioner Gael Tarleton called the deadheading issue a "common area of interest" with the city. "We both have the same view — we want to save fuel and best serve all our travelers and users," she said. Another issue the Port may need to grapple with if taxi competition comes to Sea-Tac will be creating a larger holding area for cabs, she added.
| Outbound trips | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| Courtesy vans | 1,324,005 | 1,260,094 | 1,140,101 |
| STITA taxis | 639,751 | 648,275 | 732,694 |
| Door-to-door service | 156,013 | 168,151 | 171,668 |
| Belled-in taxis | 114,354 | 139,355 | 158,342 |
| Pre-arranged limo | 53,506 | 53,853 | 62,050 |
| Scheduled airporters | 36,279 | 28,050 | 31,657 |
| On-call limo | 32,263 | 34,455 | 27,165 |
| Charter bus dispatch | 6,526 | 6,258 | 6,687 |
| TOTAL | 2,362,697 | 2,338,491 | 2,330,364 |
| Revenue | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| STITA taxis | $2,052,151 | $2,065,701 | $2,324,418 |
| Courtesy vans | $1,203,918 | $1,262,990 | $1,250,760 |
| Door-to-door service | $250,835 | $246,520 | $225,960 |
| Pre-arranged limo | $170,220 | $193,430 | $211,094 |
| Scheduled airporters | $143,858 | $149,779 | $159,852 |
| Charter bus dispatch | $101,837 | $98,771 | $98,412 |
| On-call limo | $101,694 | $108,306 | $70,794 |
| Belled-in taxis | $16,380 | $29,520 | $33,571 |
| Parcel carriers | $9,200 | $8,000 | $200 |
| TOTAL | $4,050,093 | $4,163,017 | $4,375,061 |
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Comments:
Posted Mon, Oct 6, 4:26 a.m. inappropriate
Taxis -- The Best Solution: Taxis are probably the best "mass transit" solution for the Puget Sound, but taxophilic liberals have regulated them so that only those on business accounts could afford them. The insane pricing makes what should be a cheap trip from, say, Wallingford to downtown, become unaffordable to the point of having to drive your own car.
Light Rail bandits are soaking the Puget Sound at 330 million per mile! The Sounder wastes $40,000 per passenger. Metro fares cover only 6 percent of total cost. We could implement a more widespread public/private taxi system to handle those without private automobiles and give the rider a better more targeted experience.
Posted Mon, Oct 6, 9:53 a.m. inappropriate
RE: Taxis -- The Best Solution: Brilliant! Let's replace all the hundreds of buses carrying 30 or 40 riders each with individual taxis. That should work just great.
Posted Mon, Oct 6, 10:56 a.m. inappropriate
A bad experience, and 2 suggestions: One freezing night at Seatac, my family had to wait for 40 mins outside for a van. Because of small trunk spaces and possibly because of Stita policies, they don't like to take a family of 4 in a regular taxi car, just in the vans. THere are very few vans and unfortunately they won't always wait for groups of 4. Just when we were arriving at the taxi stand, a van took a couple because the van was first in line.
So, some suggestions:
1. vans should go to a different taxi stand than the regular stand, so groups can be more easily served.
2. whoever is running the stand should make an effort to combine single travelers who are going to the same area. This would be another way to reduce the amount of wasted trips. Cabs elsewhere regularly combine passengers, why not here?
Posted Mon, Oct 6, 6:10 p.m. inappropriate
Would a new taxicab system help?: As I've been doing for several years, my Google for taxicab news generated the artcle. We are preparing to launch a new taxicab system based on prepaid cards. We will employ forced dispatching based on a drivers proximity to calls. Drivers are safer without cash and will realize a 60% reduction in overall expenses while the public gets reliable service (always under 20 minutes)...but how to reach the drivers with this info? And is this corrupt deal a cab company has with the airport...can it be broken? No matter...by the time we get there, passengers arriving will be asking where our drivers are as they produce our cards purchased in other markets....be ready drivers, here comes reform..
Posted Mon, Oct 6, 7:51 p.m. inappropriate
new choice: About a year ago fifty five taxi drivers formed a new company called eastside for hire.now we have fifty cars and serve mostly east side,but we are expanding to seattle and the rest of king county.
Our rates are based on zip codes.for example zip code 98101(down town seattle) to Airport is only $25.00 .Shuttle express charges $38.00 and that's only for one person!
We have problem people don't know we are out there.there is no question
our rates are lower than taxi or even shuttle and we have better service.
Maybe Peter Lewis can inform his readers about this new company.
please spread the word.thank you
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Posted Tue, Oct 7, 3:08 p.m. inappropriate
RE: new choice: I wonder what your intracity rates will be like in Seattle? The ZIP Code idea is an interesting one, but doesn't that mean it'd cost as much to ride the three blocks from 15th & John to 12th & John (crossing from 98112 into 98102) as it would from 43rd & Madison to Bellevue & John (crossing from the far end of 98112 to the far end of 98102)?
Posted Tue, Oct 7, 4:56 p.m. inappropriate
RE: new choice: For Hire Vehicles are an interesting concept. They are required to operate by either time only or by zones. Having designed their zone system, I found that by basing it on zip codes, more people could understand them. It is not a perfect system, but it does work. Of course they still are not Taxicabs and should not be confused with Taxicabs legally.
Posted Tue, Oct 7, 9:31 p.m. inappropriate
the best rate to Airport period!: Our rates are $7 dollars from zip code 98112 to 98102,regardless whether you go two blocks or twenty blocks.of course it's not a perfect system but it's illegal for us to charge by mileage. The zip code system is more accurate when it comes to long trips (5 miles or more).Our rates to the Airport are the lowest by far.
You can check our rates on our website http://www.eastsideforhire.com/rates.htm
All of our drivers are owner operators, so no middle man ,that's how we can keep our rates lower compared to taxi or even shuttle express.
thank you
Posted Wed, Oct 8, 9:44 p.m. inappropriate
Government works again: Port fights City while we all get burned. Seattle nannies at their best. What a ridicules waste of fuel and a burden on the environment. Let the market decide how many cabs are needed when. When the light rail opens, travelers will have another option. Make the buses more accessible by moving the metro stop from the far end of the terminal to a central location and display user friendly routs and schedules. Give folks the opportunity to call a cab to meet them at curbside.
Posted Tue, Oct 14, 11:13 p.m. inappropriate
Here's a useful site when it comes to taxi fares. TaxiFareFinder.com. Try the page for Seattle.
It is also interesting to check out the Taxi Rate Chart that includes the listing of major US cities and the fares. Seattle is expensive, but not as much as some of the other cities.