Evening star., 1932-10-01
UTILITIES BOARD
ASSA|LS RENTAL
CAB COMPANIES
Associations Battening on
Drivers Meager Earnings,
Says Statement.
COMMISSION ADMITS
LACK OF JURISDICTION
Promises Effort Will Be Made to
Reach Offending Operators
Indirectly.

The Public Utilities Commission yes
terday issued a written statement, ex-
coriating rental cab companies and as
sociations in stinging terms for bat
tening on the meager earnings" OF those
who rent their cabs, for making con-
siderable profit at their Ohe drivers)
expense" for employing devices to con-
tinue their exploitation Of drivers, and
to use every means in the
commissions power to thwart these
goings-en.
The statement mourns the fact that
since the rental companies are not
utilities, the commission has no con-
troll over them, but points out that
they may be reached indirectly by re-
voking licenses of public vehicles IN
which the driver has plainly violated
the commissions orders and is still
being mulcted by these rental COM
panieS under one plan or another"
This, the commission promises 70 do.
The commission will further try to
enforce its regulation requiring COM
plete manifests to be furnished by all
operators, which should diminish the
difficulties of owners trying to comply
with the law"
Commissions Statement.
The following is the full text Of the
commissions statement:
There has been some criticism Of
the arrests OF taXicab drivers and their
srraignment in Police Court charged
with violating orders of this commits
sion.
1T has been suggested that if de-
Sirous Of breaking up the rental taxi
cab business, the commission should
proceed against the renting companies.
The fact is that these renting COM
panies are not, in any sense of the
word, utilities and. therefore, they ere
rot under the jurisdiction Of this COM
mission.
The orders Of the commission can
6eal solely with the operators of taxi
cabs and they forbid such operation
unless the driver owns the cab or is
a bona fde employe of the owner.
These renting companies can only
exist, to use the words of Justice Ad-
kins, through the exploitation Of
labor; they batten upon the meager
earnings of those who rent their We
hicles. That these rental companies
expense of the men to whom they rent
their cabs seems probable from the
efforts they are making. the devices
they are employing, to continue this
source of revenue, to exact about the
same sums from these drivers under
the guise of association dues, or in
stallment payments on the cabs which
they claim to have sold to the drivers.
Drivers Released.
None Of these drivers who have
been convicted has really been pun
ished. Several of them have been re-
leased on their personal bond, and the
nominal fines of others. it IS known,
were paid by the so-called cab COM
panies.
Where convictions are secured and
| the driver has plainly violated the
commissions ORDERS and is still being
mulcted by these rental companies
under one plan or another, the COM
mission proposes to ask to have the
| license of the particular vehicle re-
voked Unfortunately, this seems to
be the only way in which the rental
companies can be reached.
Where a driver actually owns his
| cab. or is purchasing it on the install
ment plan and has title thereto, as he
should have in either case, or where
the driver is a bona-fide employee of
| the cab owner and duly protected by
reason of the fact that the owner has
/ complied with the employees compen-
! sation law, the commission has no
/ desire to, and will not interfere with,
such an operation.
/ Recent adjustments in the operat-
/ ine methods of several companies
which formerly rented cabs have come
! to the attention of the commission.
/ Other operators complain that under
the zone system of charges it is i'm
| possible to operate on the straight
salary or commission basis because
drivers fail to report all fares re-
ceived and no practical system of check
ing the receipts can be devised. 1t is
the intention of the commission to in
force its regulations requiring accurate
and complete manifests by every means
at is disposal. This should diminish
the difficulties of owners who are en-
endeavoring to comply with the law"