Order 15754 - ROM Transportation: Appl. to Amend Taxi Certificate

 

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS

DIVISION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS

100 ORANGE STREET

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND 02903

DATE OF APPLICATION: 9/9/98

DATE OF HEARING: 10/1/98

COMMODITY: Passengers

REPORT AND ORDER

LET IT BE KNOWN, that the Applicant listed above filed an application with the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers seeking to amend its taxicab certificate MC-295 from one taxicab to five taxicabs and to amend its operating areas from points in Providence, Cranston and Warwick to include T. F. Green Airport, East Greenwich and North Kingstown, Rhode Island. A duly noticed hearing on the application was held at 100 Orange Street, Providence, Rhode Island on October 1, 1998.

APPEARANCES:       

STEPHEN T. VOCCOLA, ESQ., for the Applicant

MARK CHARLESON, ESQ., for Protestants:

Magdalena Andreozzi, an owner of Executive Transportation and Carol Allen, dispatcher for Yellow Cab Company

Kevin C. Michaels, who lives in Warwick, testified in support of the application. He stated he goes to the Harborside in East Greenwich in the summertime and stays to twelve or one o'clock in the morning. He further stated he usually rides to the bar with a friend, who usually leaves earlier with his girlfriend. Mr. Michaels said, ".... usually I am the third wheel so I get stuck at the bar and next thing you know around twelve or one o'clock in the morning it's time to go home, you know, I see three roads instead of one and I say I can't drive, I got to call somebody."

Q. And have you tried to obtain taxi service when you are down there?

A. Yeah.

Q. Who have you tried to call?

A. To tell you the truth, I open up the book and I mean sometimes the bartender helps me out, Yellow, if I remember, Airport, Apponaug, Bay, there are a few of them to tell you the truth. Like I said, it's twelve or one in the morning and I'm not in any shape to remember.

Q. In the last six months approximately how many times have you called a taxi while you were in East Greenwich.

A. About seven or eight.

Q. And were most of those at stands late at night?

A. Yeah.

Q. On every occasion.

A. Not every occasion, I mean, could be forty-five minutes to an hour ...(TR 11/4/98, pgs. 92-93).

Under cross-examination Mr. Michaels said he doesn't call a cab an hour before he plans to leave the bar because "I guess I'm having too much fun drinking at the bar" (TR 11/4/98, pgs. 97-98).

Calvin C. Oliver, Manager of Buddies Tavern in Warwick, testified in support of the application. The thrust of Mr. Oliver's testimony was that he uses cab companies to transport intoxicated tavern patrons to their homes.

Q. What are the hours of operation at that business?

A. Average hours are eleven to one, 11 A.M. to 1 A.M.

Q. Do they serve alcoholic beverages at that establishment.

A. Alcohol and food.

Q. Have you ever had occasion to call any taxicab service?

A. Frequently, yes.

Q. And what is -- is there a particular purpose that you would have to call a taxicab service for?

A. For people that have too much to drink.

Q. Is that approximately what time the other bars close in the City of Warwick?

A. Yes, we got a two o'clock license but we try to get the people out of there by one, one thirty.

Q. Is it your experience in that business that most people stay until the end of the evening?

A. Most of the time.

Q. Is there a point in time when most people appear to be the most intoxicated?

A. Pretty much so (TR 11/4/98, pgs. 19 and 20).

A. Well, besides being manager, I am also bartender sometimes, per say enforcer, you are dealing with 100, 200 people, you don't want to deal with an irate drunk that wants to go home and concern for the license, a lot of things, bothering other customers. Like I said, we do serve food, and you got someone in there who is drunk, nobody drives, we take the keys, we try to get them home the best way we can and the best way is to call a cab.

Q. Have you ever had any experience where a patron refused to stay until a taxi could service them?

A. The best of them stay, you know, like we tell them we will return the keys in the morning or else they can find a way to get their cars to their home. It's a neighborhood, most of the people you know in there and you know they do listen but on occasion we have had a few that you know I want another drink if I got to wait, no, you can't have another drink, you are waiting, it's tough to control them and run a business, you have to watch them.

Q. And when you're in that type of situation is it your experience that the faster the taxi service the better it is for your establishment?

Q. Yes.

Q. The safer the roads are going to be?

A. The safer roads are going to be, the safer my, the easier my job is and better for the business and the fact that you know I figure the faster, the easier you get them out of there, they are home, they are off the road and they are out of your hair not to say that they are in my hair but they are customers (TR 11/4/98, pgs. 20-22).

Examination by Mr. Stevenson:

Q. I thought bars were not allowed to serve intoxicated people?

A. We are not.

Q. But you do?

A. I'm not saying we serve them intoxicated.

Q. They are intoxicated, you know, must be, not to drive home.

Cross-Examination by Mr. Charleson:

Q. When was the last time you had the need for a taxicab to take home an intoxicated person?

A. Not necessarily always intoxicated, some people will get dropped off by friends and request a cab, not necessarily always intoxicated.

Q. When was the last time somebody asked you to call a cab for them?

A. There is a gentleman every Friday night.

Q. Was he there this past Friday night?

A. Yes, he was.

Q. Who did you call?

A. He requested Best.

Q. Did Best come and pick him up?

A. Yes, he is a regular customer of Best.

Q. What was Best's response time?

A. Oh, I would probably say twenty-five to thirty minutes.

Q. Is that an acceptable response time as far as you're concerned?

A. For that gentleman, yes, he was not intoxicated. Like I said, there are people that don't drive that do come there who need to get a cab. He was not intoxicated, he was all done for the evening, he wanted to go home (TR. 11/4/98, pgs. 30-31).

Kevin Kretchman, house Supervisor, at the Comfort Inn in Warwick, testified in support of the application.

Mr. Kretchman testified that the hotel has a shuttle service to the Airport, but guests also need cab service. Mr. Kretchman also testified that Bay taxi usually responds in fifteen to twenty minutes when a cab is available. "I don't normally have any problems when it's available. I often call ahead of time, the night before, so that they can have a taxi in the morning" (TR. 11/4/98, pg. 66).

He also testified that he does not normally have a problem with Best Taxi, located in Warwick (TR. 11/4/98, pg. 68). Mr. Kretchman said he was unaware that there were other taxicab companies that would service the Warwick area.

Noel B. Holmes, night auditor at Days Inn in Cranston, also testified in support of the application. Mr. Holmes said he works at the Inn from 11 P.M. until 7 A.M., and sometimes until 9 A.M. He testified that most of the requests for taxicab service are concentrated just prior to checkout time which is 11 A.M. Mr. Holmes testified that he sometimes has trouble getting a taxicab.

FINDINGS

ROM Transportation filed for four additional taxicabs and to expand its service areas of Providence, Cranston, and Warwick to include East Greenwich and North Kingstown. Robert Romano, who operates ROM Taxi, focused his testimony on the Warwick area. Mr. Romano testified that he could not handle all the calls for taxi service, but presented no evidence that people were not being serviced by other taxi companies. No witnesses testified to public need and convenience for additional taxicabs in Providence or North Kingstown. He presented one witness who said he had to wait for taxicabs in East Greenwich when he was intoxicated. He presented a manager of a bar in Warwick who said cabs were needed to take home his intoxicated patrons after the bar closed.

Mr. Romano gave no testimony on direct examination to support his application. On cross-examination he testified that his company could not handle the amount of calls for taxi service. However, he gave no evidence indicating that other taxi companies could not service those customers. Mr. Romano's application requested to expand his service area and to add additional cabs. He requested the community of North Kingstown but presented no evidence to indicate a public need and convenience. He also presented no evidence to show a need for additional cabs in the Providence area. The Division points out to Mr. Romano that the requirement of public necessity and convenience is not to promote his business interest but to promote public interest.

Mr. Romano presented a witness who testified he needed cab service from East Greenwich after he spent a night of drinking at Harborside and was unable to drive. He also presented a manager of a bar in Warwick who testified that there was a shortage of cabs to transport his intoxicated customers when the bar closed at 1 or 2 A.M. The Division has determined that the testimony of Mr. Michaels and Mr. Oliver is not convincing. The testimony does not clearly show that additional cabs are needed in Warwick and East Greenwich to transport intoxicated people on a regular basis. The bar manager admitted that these intoxicated patrons get aggravated and become belligerent (TR. 11/4/98, pg. 36). He also testified that prompt service is important because "you don't want to deal with an irate drunk that wants to go home and concern for the license, a lot of things, bothering other customers" (TR. 11/4/98, p. 20).

Division rules and regulations give some latitude to cab company operators to refuse a fare. Under Section "H" Rules Regarding Drivers and the Operation of Cabs states:

"11, Cabs drivers shall not refuse a fare unless the driver fears for his or her personal safety."

As Mr. Oliver testified, intoxicated people become belligerent, aggravated and irate. This certainly makes cab companies hesitant about transporting intoxicated people.

Accordingly, it is

(15754) ORDERED:

That the application filed by ROM Transportation, 70 Moccasin Drive, Warwick, RI, seeking authority to amend its certificate (MC-T-295) from one taxicab to five taxicabs and to amend its operating areas from points in Providence, Cranston and Warwick to include T. F. Green Airport, East Greenwich and North Kingstown, Rhode Island is hereby denied and dismissed without prejudice.

DATED AND EFFECTIVE AT PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND THIS 28th DAY OF DECEMBER, 1998.