$25 taxi fare to Sea-Tac ignored

Help for taxi passengers

If you believe you've been overcharged by a cabdriver, contact the taxi company. If you still aren't satisfied, call Seattle's consumer-affairs department at 386-1298 or 296-TAXI.

Call it cabscam.

A flat $25 fare to the airport from downtown Seattle has been in effect for two weeks, but cabdrivers appear to be the last ones to know. Or, at least, to comply.

Seattle Times reporters took 10 rides from various downtown hotels to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last week, but only one driver, in an Orange Cab, charged the $25 flat fare, $4 less than his meter read.

Eight others charged from $1 to $10 over the fare, and at one hotel a request for a cab was greeted by a town car and a $35 ride.

"I'm disappointed, but not surprised," said Mel McDonald, Seattle's Revenue and Consumer Affairs director. "This is a loosely organized industry with a lot of independent people. This shouldn't be taking place. If they're not moving (on the flat fare), this is something that needs to be addressed."

McDonald said cabdrivers who violate the new law could be fined if they're caught. And that isn't easy, especially when drivers don't fill out receipts giving their name and the fare they're charging, as was typically the case when Times reporters took the cabs to the airport.

The law applies only to rides from downtown to the airport. The Seattle City Council can't control rates on rides starting outside the city.

Frank Dowgwilla, general manager of Yellow Cab, said he was angry drivers had flouted the law.

"They know," he said. "But they'll play dumb every time. Playing games here doesn't make me happy. We did this for a very specific reason, and if they're not doing it, it defeats the purpose."

Dowgwilla said he will issue a memo to the Yellow Cab drivers reminding them of the $25 fare.

Yellow is the largest cab company licensed in Seattle, with 275 taxis. Orange Cab has 122 licensed taxis in the city. In all, there are 1,250 licensed taxi drivers in Seattle. All cabdrivers are independent and own or lease their cars. But they all have to belong to a cab association, of which there are seven: Yellow-Graytop, Emerald City, Farwest, North End Taxi, Orange, Northwest and Redtop.

It was the taxi associations that proposed the $25 rate, said Craig Leisy, with the city's consumer-affairs unit. They wanted to better compete with the more luxurious town cars, which charge around $35 for the airport trip. Taxi drivers have complained that those limousine drivers are cutting into their business, often with help from downtown hotels.

The City Council agreed to the idea, and the law went into effect April 14. It has since been largely ignored.

"This is absolutely a violation of the law," Leisy said of the reports of the overcharges. It is considered a Class B violation, which carries a $60 fine for the first offense. A third offense can carry a fine of $250 and a license suspension.

One problem for passengers, Leisy said, is that cabs have not affixed the required decals that tell of the $25 airport fare. Drivers were given two months, until June 12, to post the new rates on the cabs.

The notices must be posted on the outside of the doors, where the other rates are posted, and on the rear driver's-side window so they may be read from inside.

The city should have required the decals as soon as the law went into effect, said Johnny Mills, a Northwest Taxi driver who's driven cabs for 37 years and was not part of The Times' test. That drivers aren't complying is really the city's fault, he said.

As for the flat rate, Mills said he'll honor it - if the customer asks. If not, they pay what's on his meter.

"I wouldn't volunteer it," Mills said. "But when we have the signs, I'll have to."

Leisy said his department has received no complaints about cabdrivers overcharging riders going to the Sea-Tac but said tourists and business travelers likely don't know about the fixed fare.

When Times reporters asked drivers about whether there was a special rate to the airport, one Orange Cab driver simply shrugged and shook his head no. Another Orange driver said it only applied when the rider told the driver before the ride started, so he wouldn't engage his meter.

That is absolutely wrong, said Leisy. There is no requirement that riders ask for the fare, and the law says the meter must run even with the flat rate.

"The fare . . . is new enough some drivers possibly don't know about it, but most do, and they're simply not charging the correct rate," he said. "We will investigate any complaint a consumer sends to us."

Leisy also said cab receipts are not supposed to be left blank.

Hailom Ghebreab, personnel manager for Orange Cab, said his drivers know about the new rate and he doesn't know why they would not comply with it. "We go problem by problem, and if we hear of something like this we'll discuss it with the driver."

Standard airport fares are not unique. In 1996, New York City imposed a flat $30 fare from John F. Kennedy Airport to Manhattan.

"We had a serious problem with overcharges," said Alan Fromberg, with New York's Taxi and Limousine Commission. He said the fare was to help those people flying into the airport who are unfamiliar with the city or don't speak English.

The fares are posted on the cabs and displayed at cab kiosks at the airport.

Seattle Times reporters Jack Broom, Lisa L. Diaz, Lisa Pemberton-Butler, Ray Rivera, and Eli Sanders contributed to this report.

Susan Gilmore's phone message number is 206-464-2054. Her e-mail address is sgilmore@seattletimes.com

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Taxicab fares

Cab rides taken by Seattle Times reporters April 26, 27 and 28 from downtown Seattle to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Starting point Cab company Fare

Best Western Loyal Inn, 2301 Eighth Ave. Orange Cab $35.20.

W Hotel, Fourth Avenue and Seneca Street Yellow Cab $33

Westin Hotel, 1900 Fifth Ave. Orange Cab $30.80

Seattle Sheraton, 1400 Sixth Ave. Farwest Taxi $28.80

Seattle Sheraton, 1400 Sixth Ave. Emerald City Taxi $28.80

Madison Renaissance Hotel, 515 Madison St. Northwest Taxi $28.80

Four Seasons Olympic Hotel, 411 University St. Northwest Taxi $28.80

Coleman Dock, state ferry terminal Yellow Cab $26

Westin Hotel, 1900 Fifth Ave. Orange Cab $25 flat rate (meter read $29)

Holiday Inn Express, 226 Aurora Ave. N. Requested a cab, $35

was sent a town car