Evening star., 1932-09-11
Assistant Corporation Coun-
sci Roberts Shows Effect
of Non-EnforCement.
PUBLIC UNPROTECTED
BY "UNFAIR SYSTEM"
Law Evaded by Refunds of Small
Commissions to Drivers.
Losses Sustained.

Efforts of the Public Utilities Com
mission to break up the taxicab renta
business in Washington have failed be-
cause Of non-enforcement Of a regu-
1ation designed for that purpose, ii
was disclosed last night by William
A. Roberts, assistant corporation coun-
sci and attorney for the commission.
In a series of regulations covering
taxicab operations, the commission on
August 4, Roberts pointed out, decreed
that thereafter no public vehicle should
be operated except by the owner or a
bona fide employe Of the owner. This
particular provision was intended to
put an end to the taxicab rental sys-
tem-a system which Roberts charged
was unfair to the driver and offered
no liability protection to the public
in the case of an accident.
Despite this regulation, now in force
for more than month, Roberts said
the taxicab rental business Is still
fourishing, and no arrests had been
made for its violation. Several OF the
taxicab rental companies, however, haye
made an attempt to get around the
regulation, he declared, by giving the
drivers a small commission amounting
TO cents on a dollar for the first
So. In other words, if the regular cab
rental fee is 81 day, the driver would
be refunded is cents when he turned
In the cab, as his pay or commission.
Lack of Protection.
The evil of the rental taxicab and
the reason the commission is so anxious
to put an end to this business, Roberts
said, lies chiefly in the lack of protec-
tion afforded the public.
Some of the cabs sent out by the
rental companies, according to Roberts,
have the appearance of being owned
and operated by firm which is f1nan-
cially liable for damages. Quite the
contrary, he declared, some Of the COM
panies renting cabs will not accept any
liability for accidents in which the
drivers are involved. The drivers, there
fore, under the law, must be held re-
sponsible for damages, but few. II any
of them. he explained, carry liability
insurance. On the other hand, If the
drivers are injured, Roberts said, the
company owning the cab escapes the
workmen's compensation act, because 1t
can show on a carefully phrased rental
contract, that the operator was not an
employe, but lessee of the cab.
The taxi rental system, Roberts also
charged, is to large extent responsible
for the streets of Washington being
cluttered with public vehicles, with the
result that neither the rental drivers
nor the cnes employed by estaonsneo
taxicab companies are earning nVen-
hood. In fact. Roberts said, some OF
the men driving rented cabs often 40
not take in enough money to pay tne
rental fee.
3170 Licensed Cabs.
Latest available figures in the office
of Wade H. Coombs, superintendent OF
licenses. show there are 3,l70 licensed
cabs in Washington. This is substan-
tial reduction over the number IN oper-
alton last wear, the decrease being Que
to the higher license fee, which went
into effect July /.
Roberts has followed the taxicab sit
nation closely since his assignment to
the Public Utilities Commission and mas
heard numerous stories from the drivers
of the rented cabs of their hardships
trying to make living on the existing
20-cent zone rate.
Many of the men who orlVe the
rented CABS, according W 1toOcA 70, A"'S
been unable to find any other employ
ment, but consider themselves very for
tunate II they can average net income
of SIS a day, running cab for IL hours
The companies, however, he declared
make a good return on their investment
Cabs used by some Of the companies
Roberts said, have an appraisal value OF
$500. If one of the cabs Is rented
every day in the week the return on
this vehicle would be $28 week.
Depreciation Absorbed.
The companies, however, must ABSORB
the depreciation, and keep the vehicle
in operating condition. They also run
the risk of paying for damages zone
TO vehicles by drivers who abandon
them on the streets.
Cases have been reported to Roberts
where the vehicles have been left on the
streets either by drivers who wanted
to escape paying the damages or those
who failed to earn sufficient funds 70
pay the rental fee. Such men. he said
are blacklisted, and prohibited from
renting cars from any company In the
taxicab rental business.