Small Town News

No change on taxi regs in Rehoboth

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City vows better enforcement of existing laws

The Rehoboth Beach commissioners will not pass any new laws regarding taxicabs stopping at fixed-route bus stops.

Mayor Sam Cooper told the owners of the Jolly Trolley, the Hastings family, that the city

would make a good-faith effort to better enforce the city's no-stopping rules at fixed-route stops.

"We're going to make every effort to keep the bus areas available to the buses when they get there," Cooper said.

City code prevents cabs and other vehicles from stopping in the street other than for immediate loading and unloading of passengers.

The city also plans to put up a sign at the Boardwalk spelling out the city's rules on vehicles

parked in the bus lane. Police Chief Keith Banks will meet with cabbies, police officers and the Hastings to discuss how the city intends to enforce the regulations.

The Hastings had raised concerns that taxicabs were picking up their customers by puUing up to Jolly Trolley stops and soliciting potential trolley riders.

The commissioners said they wanted to help the Jolly Trolley but not infringe on the cabs' right to free trade.

The commissioners also explored doing something about the cabs as a matter of public safety; the Hastings have said cabs halt traffic and that customers walk into the road to get into the cab, causing a safety issue.

The commissioners debated the issue May 20 by deciding whether they wanted to prohibit cabbies from soliciting customers. Commissioner Stan Mills said he was willing to consider such a law, if broadly drawn, as well as the establishment of a taxi stand for cabs to

park at while waiting for customers. Commissioner Dennis Barbour said if the commissioners were to pass any new laws regarding taxis, it must be based on public safety, not solicitation. Barbour said the commissioners could not base their laws on economics.

Commissioner Bill Sargent agreed,"I think an anti-solicitation ordinance at this point is a solution in search of a problem."

Barbour said of solicitation,"I don't think it's a problem. I don't think we have a wide problem with solicitation in this town. I would argue for whatever we need to do for public safety. I'm not concerned about competi-' tion."

Commissioner Kafhy McGui-ness said she believed cabs stopping at bus stops is a safety issue.

"You have rules and guidelines, and we're apparently really into the rules lately, so I think

there's a reason for it. I'm not against taxicabs; I think they're great. I've taken them before -there's a need. But I also think there's a safety issue," she said.

Looking for a simple solution, Barbour suggested a sign saying not to obstruct buses and then revisiting the issue if it becomes a public-safety problem.

Banks said he agreed cabs can sometimes cause congestion, but when the bars let out, he'd rather have the cabs line up than have drunk people get behind the wheel.





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