Coat Of Orange Paint Signals Start-Up Of Taxi Company -- Breakaway Cabbies Grabbing Attention Of Industry Watchers

It's as though someone splashed orange paint across the cab stand outside the downtown Westin Hotel. Passersby turn and stare.

One man rolls down his window and asks Jemal Ali who owns these orange cabs.

"We do. The drivers do," the 40-year-old Ali shouts. He points at his own orange cab and the others that line the street for two blocks.

Just as the bright orange paint has caught the eye of people around Seattle, the breakaway Orange Cab Co. has caught the interest of anyone who watches the area's taxi business.

The Seattle cab industry pulls in an estimated $30 million annually, but a precise figure is impossible to come by.

Drivers have flexibility in the number of hours they work each week, and companies don't keep records on the amount of money their drivers bring in, said Douglas Bohlke, executive director of Evergreen State Taxi Association, a statewide trade association.

Drivers who belong to companies must pay a weekly dispatch services fee, called the "nut," but they take home the rest, Bohlke said, estimating that amount at between $35 and $100 a day per driver, depending on how many hours are put in.

The Seattle market is dominated by Yellow Cab and Farwest Taxi, which share most of the corporate accounts in town, said Bill Duncan, Farwest operations manager. Corporate-account business brings in at least $650,000 a month industrywide, Duncan said.

Graytop also takes a large share of the Seattle market. It is run by the same dispatching company as Yellow Cab and is licensed for the city only, so it runs on lower rates: an initial fee of $1.20, and $1.40 a mile.

Cabs that are licensed in both Seattle and King County must run at the mandated county rate: initial fee of $1.80, and $1.80 a mile.

The cab business traditionally has been volatile, with cab owners often moving from company to company.

But the formation of Orange Cab six weeks ago goes beyond the usual disenchantment. In a city with a history of customer complaints about cab service, Orange Cab wants to make the customer the center of cab service.

"We're trying to get back to the old adage that cab driving is a service, not that we're trying to get you from here to there and get the most money we can from you," said Dick Crisman, who at age 72 was enticed from retirement to become Orange Cab's general manager. He is a former general manager of Yellow Cab.

Of the 644 licensed cabs on the streets of Seattle, 45 are Orange, said Paul Everitt, a city license and standards inspector for the Department of Finance. But that can change daily, he said.

There are 12 other cab companies in Seattle with two or more cars, and 79 cabs are independently owned and operated, Everitt said.

Each cab owner who wants to join Orange pays a start-up fee between $1,000 and $1,200 and then weekly fees of $100 to pay for the dispatchers, managers and other expenses.

The company is owned collectively by the cab owners, which ensures that their views won't be neglected, said Ali, a director of Orange Cab.

That represents a cultural difference from other companies, where one person owns 30 or 40 cabs and leases them out to drivers.

Many Orange Cab drivers defected from Puget Sound Dispatch Co., which includes the Yellow, Graytop and Broadway cab companies. In December, the fleet owners of those companies formed a cooperative. Many single-cab owners/drivers said that they felt excluded and that the dispatching service was biased in favor of the fleet cabs.

The dominance of the large fleets lowered the level of customer service, Ali said.

"The fleet owners' concern is the need to lease cabs. They don't care who rents it," he said. "And on the flip side, the drivers don't own their cabs, so they don't feel as tied to the business."

Orange Cab stipulates that every member of the company must be at least a part-time driver, and no one owning more than three cabs can join Orange, Ali said.

"We are determined to change the lifestyle of the cab industry in Seattle," he said.

Orange cabs must be cleaned regularly and be dent-free or they will be taken off duty, Ali said. His own cab carried a hint of orange scent.

The company also plans to enforce a dress code for its drivers in the future, Ali said.

Thus far, downtown hotels said they are pleased with the new company. Rhanda Rosselot, a spokeswoman for the Westin Hotel, said the hotel's doormen find that Orange Cab drivers keep their cars clean and are knowledgeable about the Seattle area.

Orange Cab hopes that customer satisfaction gives it a leg up in the competitive cab business. Without even a listing in the phone book yet, staying afloat is a formidable task for the fledgling company.

It got only nine calls the first day of operation, Ali said, but that has risen to more than 170 a day.

He also said more cab owners are coming to the new company each week.

The general manager of Puget Sound Dispatch said the breakaway of the single-cab owners from his company was due to a difference in vision.

In Seattle, about 90 percent of cab drivers are first-generation immigrants, and many saw the co-op as standing in the way of their American dream of hard work and success, said the manager, who declined to give his name for publication.

Driving a cab is a business many immigrants choose because it requires little start-up capital or special education, said Terry Denend, supervisor for King County Business Licenses.

"There are limited entry-level requirements," she said. "Driving is a skill that many immigrants have, so it's just a matter of learning the area in your new home.

"It's probably better-paid than washing dishes or working in McDonald's, and there's the attractiveness of the hours," she added. "You can work when you want to work, not when someone else needs you to work."

To become a licensed cab driver, individuals must be 21, have a Washington state driver's license, pass a test on driving rules and map-reading skills, and undergo checks of their criminal and driving records, Denend said. To get a county license, drivers must also have a physical exam.

Applicants must also attend a day-long training course, which covers defensive driving, personal safety, geography and customer service, she said.

The county oversees the licensing of drivers for the county and city, and the city oversees the licensing of cabs for both areas.

Currently there are 1,600 licensed cab drivers in the city and county combined, Denend said.

Originally from the East African country of Eritrea, Ali has driven cabs in Seattle and San Diego for eight years, and said he takes the profession very seriously.

He said that even though he's making less money now than he did at Yellow Cab, he's certain Orange Cab will succeed and be a better place for single-cab owners to work.

"I'm really very confident," he said. "I'm dedicated and I'm determined to give a good service to the public."