Conversations about Nome taxi companies during Monday’s City Council meeting brought to light an incident of a local taxi driver operating a cab without a chauffeur’s license, which also called into question the legitimacy of the way taxi companies operate in Nome.
Despite this one alleged example of illegitimate taxi business practice, Nome Police Department Chief, John Papasodora, explains that doesn’t happen often in Nome.
“…We all live in a small community, we know who the chauffeurs are, we know who the chauffeurs are not. So, if somebody is driving and they are not, then, we count on these folks here to let us know if somebody is in violation of it, because they are competitors. Generally speaking, competitors will report that type of information,” stated Papasodora.
Chauffeurs are defined as people who are employed to transport passengers for money. According to Chief Papasodora, and the Nome City Code of Ordinances, drivers who apply for a chauffeur’s license must meet different criteria than applicants who want to obtain a driver’s license. These criteria include being qualified to transport passengers, as well as being medically and morally capable.
Seiji Heck, a local taxi cab driver, says these qualifications for chauffeur’s licenses are put in place by the City for the benefit of the public.
“This is something for the City to make sure they are providing responsible people behind the wheel. That’s why we have our police chief take a look at them, he’s the one who approves them and everything like that. Making sure that we don’t have violent members of society behind the wheel, driving people around — that’s fine, we don’t mind jumping through those hoops,” said Heck.
But then, Heck also questioned if those “hoops” were necessary, especially if there are no consequences for operating a taxi cab without a chauffeur’s license. Chief Papasodora pointed to the City ordinances.
“As far as what the penalties for not having your chauffeur’s license are, if we happen to stop somebody that’s carrying passengers for fare and they don’t have a chauffeur’s license, then the person is subject to a fine, the company is subject to a fine, the vehicle is subject to impound, the Council can take action against their licenses and remove their permits. There are substantial penalties that can be applied in that circumstance, but it does require the full weight of the system in order for that to play out,” explained the Chief.
As Papasodora says, taxi companies and their drivers normally do a good job of complying with Nome’s taxi cab regulations. City Manager Tom Moran agrees that an incident like this is unlikely to happen twice.
However, in order to prevent further improper practices by taxi drivers, police officers will have to stop taxi cabs more often and verify their licenses. Moran says this is doable but won’t happen until there’s “enough money in the budget to double our police department.”
