For many visitors and tourists, the first Boisean they encounter is a cab driver. That is just one reason why Boise City Hall has a stake in ensuring the taxi experience is safe, smooth and seamless.
The concept of tightening Boise’s taxicab ordinance makes sense. So do many of the ordinance’s fine details:
• Taxicab drivers and owners will have to have “a demonstrated ability” to speak and understand English. Not surprisingly, this has been a contentious issue; after meetings with representatives of Boise’s migrant and refugee community, City Hall decided against requiring drivers to be able to read, speak and write English.
Still, it’s reasonable to expect cabbies to have a working command of English. For a visitor who doesn’t know the first thing about getting from the Boise Airport to Downtown, a language barrier is enough to make a cab ride stressful, confusing — and, potentially, a lot costlier than it ought to be.
• The age restrictions on vehicles seem hardly restrictive at all. New cabs must be under five years old and have fewer than 500,000 miles. Even the hardest-working driver isn’t likely to log a half a million miles in a five-year stretch.
• The ordinance would require taxicabs to accept debit and credit cards. Again, this is reasonable. This is a matter of convenience — not as much for tourists, who travel with cash in hand, but for anyone who needs to flag down a cab in an emergency.
If there is anything wrong, potentially, with the taxicab ordinance, it is in City Hall’s schedule. A public hearing is scheduled for tonight; afterward, the council plans to vote on the proposal.
Yes, City Hall has been looking to tighten up the taxi ordinance for more than three years — and, in the process, the city worked with cab operators, representatives of the migrant community and the public. The city didn’t operate in a vacuum, or in a hurry. But when the City Council is poised to vote moments after conducting a public hearing, the hearing itself looks like an exercise in going through the motions.
If City Council members hear something tonight that would make this ordinance better, they need to take the time to do the fine-tuning.
Even if they don’t, it would simply be good form to wait. There’s no emergency here. This ordinance is a good idea, and it will still be a good idea in a couple of weeks.
A responsive, reputable taxi fleet isn’t just a matter of safety and convenience; it is a reflection on the city.
The way elected officials govern also reflects on their city.
Make the right decision. But do it the right way.
“Our View” is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman’s editorial board. To comment on an editorial or suggest a topic, email editorial@idahostatesman.com.
