Cabbie Rules and Convictions

In a joint project by the cities of Champaign and Urbana, local cab drivers have given a preliminary okay to proposed new regulations. Part of those regulations would avoid a blanket ban for any criminal convictions but still allow discretion on hiring. From yesterday's News-Gazette:

Cabbies give C-U rule tweaks the nod
A handful of local taxicab employees reviewed proposed changes to vehicle-for-hire regulations in Champaign and Urbana on Thursday.

The cities are proposing the changes jointly and are planning to have councils vote on them in July. They would only apply to each city's public streets.

Services such as taxicabs and limousines — not ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft — are what both cities define as vehicles for hire.

When asked if the city governments should consider putting regulations on ride-share companies, all of the meeting attendees said yes. They said current ride-share regulations from the state, and within the companies themselves, are substandard.

Under the proposed tweaks, those who apply for a vehicle-for-hire license wouldn't be automatically rejected if they have any prior conviction. Instead, they would be considered if they haven't been convicted of the following offenses:

— Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

— Fraud.

— Sexual offenses — or being in the National Sex Offenders Registry database.

— Use of a motor vehicle to commit a felony.

— Crimes involving property damage, theft, acts of violence or acts of terror.

In addition, an applicant's conviction has to be at least four years old. If an application is rejected, it can be appealed under the proposed regulations.

More information at the full article here. In related news, one local cab company has had to cut back its hours recently. From the News-Gazette earlier this week:

Yellow Checker Cab will no longer run taxis on weekends or between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m., owner Redith Ewing said Wednesday.

"We have shut down for Saturday and Sunday and will be running shorter hours due to not having enough drivers and dispatchers," Ewing said. "Some of our customers are in a panic thinking we are closing, and that is not the case."

The company previously operated 24 hours a day.