St Louis authorities are taking steps to help cab drivers compete with upstart ridesharing services by cutting them some slack in the regulation department.
The Metropolitan Taxicab Commission (MTC) will implement cuts in cab fees and insurance requirements to make taxi operations in the city more competitive with the likes of Uber and Lyft.
For instance, local authorities slashed the minimum liability insurance coverage to $125,000 per accident from the current $400,000, reducing injury or death insurance to $50,000 for an individual, $100,000 for two claimants, and $25,000 for property damage.
Fees have also been significantly slashed for both cab drivers and operators. An annual license fee of $25 will be charged in lieu of the current $125 to drivers, and another $50 per cab fee requirement will be imposed on taxi companies, which is also a reduction from the current $125, while those that are not in service will not be charged a fee.
The
St. Louis Post-Dispatch also reported that some regulatory requirements will be outsourced to private vendors to cut costs, among them fingerprinting, which is currently conducted by the MTC.
Another service that will be relinquished to regular state motor vehicle inspections are the safety checks of the taxis. Taxi meter inspections will likewise be relegated to third party vendors, the report said.
“We’ll just be doing a quick walk-around to make sure the cab is road worthy,” Ron Klein, MTC director, told
The Dispatch.
These new legal measures will take effect on August 28, according to the report.
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