Police go after illegal taxi services

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on March 12, 2010

Proper licensing of companies operating taxi cab fleets and the drivers who are picking people up in Amherst remains a priority for the Police Department.

Late on the night of March 5, as college students were leaving the downtown bars and parties in the vicinity of the North Amherst apartment complexes, police found two taxi cab drivers who were not licensed to ferry people in Amherst and who were working for a company still awaiting permission to solicit rides.

At 11:12 p.m., the first unlicensed taxi was located on North Pleasant Street near the fire station. The 60-year-old Southwick man driving it was issued a $100 ticket.

Then, at 11:56 p.m. on North Pleasant Street north of the University of Massachusetts, a 52-year-old Ware man was issued a $100 citation for operating an unlicensed cab.

Both were driving for Aaron's Transportation, a company based in Hadley that is not yet licensed to accept calls from people looking for rides in Amherst.

Police Chief Scott Livingstone said Monday that taxi cab companies are still new territory for his department because of the popularity of the service and the licensing requirements. "We are continuing to inform them of the rules and regulations of the cabs," Livingstone said.

All taxi company licenses and driver applications come to Livingstone. Once a background check is completed and he signs off on the application, the Select Board holds a formal hearing to grant the licenses, with the paperwork being handled in the town manager's office at Town Hall.

Though the incidents last week did cause police to shut down one means of people returning safely from a night in which they may have consumed alcohol, Livingstone said his department wants to ensure that taxis are themselves a safe means of getting people home.

Meanwhile, after the police put an end to the night's work for two of the drivers for Aaron's, the department took 10 calls early on the morning of March 6 from people seeking rides from the company.

Several of these people told police they had been advised by Aaron's to call the police station to get rides the taxis would otherwise have provided. Police warned the owner of Aaron's that directing calls in this way could jeopardize obtaining a license.

Livingstone said he met with the owner of Aaron's Tuesday morning to go over the issues and straighten out any problems.

If Aaron's gets licensed, it will be the seventh taxi company currently allowed to operate in Amherst, and the third to be licensed in the last six weeks. The other two new companies now operating in Amherst are Tiznit Valley Cab Co. and Safari Transit, licensed by the Select Board Feb. 8 and Feb. 22.

Other active taxi cab companies are Celebrity Taxi, Gotta Go Taxi, Green Transportation and Tik Tak Taxi.