Taxi stand sign on State Street in front of the Michigan Union. From the city’s taxicab ordinance: “Only licensed taxicabs are permitted to park on the taxicab stand.”

The driver’s application had been denied by the city based on the fact that he currently has 7 points on his license – stemming from a right-on-red violation and a speeding violation. The city’s ordinance stipulates that a license to operate a taxicab doesn’t have to be granted if an applicant has more than 6 points on their license. The board quizzed the prospective driver about past traffic infractions and his intentions for future employment, before deciding to grant his appeal.

The outcome of the board’s discussion on meeting time led to a decision to fix its regular meeting time for the fourth Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m. That’s a decision that applies to the next six months. Before deciding to commit to that schedule, the board weighed the fact that its newest member – Eric Sturgis, whose appointment had been confirmed by the city council just two days earlier – had applied for appointment with the understanding that the regular meeting time was 8 a.m. Sturgis wasn’t able to attend the Jan. 24 meeting.

During public commentary, the board heard from representatives of taxicab companies who complained about limousines that operate as taxicabs – which appears to be an ongoing problem. Under the city’s ordinance, it’s not possible for a vehicle to be licensed as a limousine under the state’s rules and simultaneously operate as a taxicab. The board heard the specific complaint that limousine companies violate the “top light” rule, which prohibits “for hire” lights on the top of vehicles – unless they are licensed as taxicabs.

At the meeting, the board’s city council representative, Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), responded to the complaints by indicating that the board is very aware of the issue. He added that the city’s lobbyist is working on that issue with the state legislature.

The responsibility of the city’s taxicab board is “to enforce the taxicab ordinance, hear appeals of those who are aggrieved by any decision made by the administrator and adopt regulations to facilitate the administration of the taxicab ordinance.”

License Denial: Appeal

Randall Grenham came before the board to appeal a decision that had been made administratively to deny his application for a taxicab license in the city of Ann Arbor. By way of background, a basic requirement for obtaining a taxicab license is to have a chauffeur’s endorsement on a standard driver’s license. [.pdf of city of Ann Arbor taxicab ordinance]

Beyond that, an application must include criminal history, which can be obtained through the Michigan State Police Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT). An applicant for a taxicab license must also provide a copy of their driving record from the Michigan Dept. of State Record Lookup Unit. [.pdf of taxicab application instructions and appeal process]

Under the city’s taxicab ordinance, licenses are supposed to be issued to applicants with an acceptable driving record, and that’s defined in part as a record showing no more than 6 points on their driver’s license:

7:155. ­ Taxicab driver’s license
(2) Issuance of taxicab driver’s license. A taxicab driver’s license will be issued by the administrator after the following conditions are met:
…
(j) The applicant has an acceptable driving record. An acceptable driving record is defined as:
i. A driving record on which there are no more than 6 points displayed at any given point in time.
ii. A driving record on which the average number of points displayed over the most recent 3-­year period is no more than 7. For purposes of this requirement, the average is calculated as the total points reported on the official driving record during the last 3 years divided by 3. An applicant who cannot meet this requirement shall not be issued either a full or a temporary license until the 3­-year average of points falls to 7 points or below.

It was the 6-point requirement on which Grenham’s application foundered.

Ann Arbor police department officer Jamie Adkins presented to the board the background of the denied application. [One of the non-voting members of the taxicab board is the chief of police or the chief's designee.] The application was made on Dec. 3, 2012, she said. The SOS records show 7 points currently on Grenham’s driver’s license. Three of the 7 points stemmed from a failure to obey a traffic control device in September 2011. The remaining points stemmed from a speeding violation – 48 mph in a 30-mph zone – in February 2012.

By city ordinance, Adkins noted an application from someone with more than 6 points on their driver’s license is not granted.

Stephen Kunselman, who chaired the meeting, asked when the points would expire. Adkins explained that points persist for three years. So the 3 points from September 2011 would not expire until September 2014. Kunselman asked if there were any criteria the board was supposed to use for deciding the appeal. Adkins indicated that the appeals process was simply that it be reviewed by the board.

Tom Crawford, the city’s chief financial officer – who sits as a non-voting member on the taxicab board – noted that when the ordinance was most recently revised, the goal was to implement a clear standard for licensing. The basis of the appeal, he said, would need to be in the clear interest of the public. He noted that the exact ordinance language on appeals was near the end of the ordinance:

7:170. ­ Appeals.
Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Administrator to deny, suspend, or revoke a taxicab company, vehicle or taxicab driver’s license may appeal that decision to the Taxicab Board. The Taxicab Board shall consider appeals according to due process procedures adopted by the Board. The Taxicab Board may deviate from the strict requirements of this chapter if justice so requires. In making its decision, the Taxicab Board may consider the following criteria:
(1) The seriousness of an offense, if that is a basis for the denial, suspension, or revocation.
(2) The length of time before points will be removed from the driver’s driving record, if that is a basis for the denial, suspension or revocation.
(3) Any matter the Board reasonably finds necessary to insure the health, safety, and welfare of passengers and the general public

Board members then quizzed Grenham about his driving history. Responding to their questions, he said that his driver’s license had never been suspended. He’s previously driven for “Yellow Cab” [SelectRide] for three and a half years, up through February 2012. Grenham said it was not the points that had led him not to be driving for that company. He’d been driving for SelectRide’s limousine service. He indicated that re-applying for his taxicab license was allowing him to regain focus. He told the board that he’d attended the meeting when the taxicab board had approved a meter rate hike [subsequently approved by the city council at its May 16, 2011 meeting] and he’d thought that SelectRide would continue with taxis.

Kunselman questioned whether Yellow had taxicabs – and was informed that the company has 10 licenses.

The Jan. 24, 2013 meeting of the city of Ann Arbor taxicab board, held in the city council workroom at city hall.

Responding to additional questions from board members, Grenham explained that the failure to obey a traffic control device stemmed specifically from violating a no-right-on-red posting. Asked about his driving record before the two incidents that were currently reflected in points on his driver’s license, Grenham told the board that he’d had a speeding ticket in 2009. He said he’d had moving violations before.

Crawford asked Grenham if Yellow had indicated they’d be willing to hire him, if his license were to be granted. Grenham explained that while he’d previously driven for Yellow, he was now hoping to drive for Blue Cab. Grenham indicated that Blue Cab had expressed a willingness to hire him.

Board member Michael Benson noted that the complete driving record that Grenham had provided to the board indicated some kind of infraction each year for the last five or six years. “Can you speak to that at all?” Benson asked. Grenham thought some of it was related to the type of car he was driving. His own personal vehicle, he explained, is a Crown Vic. If he’s driving a hybrid, which is very quiet, he doesn’t get the same feeling of speed on the road. Benson confirmed that except for the 6-point issue, Grenham met the criteria for a license.

Kunselman tried to recall how the board had handled a previous appeal. He thought the board had imposed some kind of conditional requirement. Kunselman indicated a willingness to grant the appeal, reasoning that Grenham had previously worked as a taxicab driver and taxicab companies seemed to know him. Regarding the infractions, he found Grenham’s explanation to be valid, saying that the same sort of thing had happened to him. So Kunselman didn’t want to be punitive. But to meet its responsibility, Kunselman felt that the board needed to impose a requirement that if Grenham were to receive another moving violation, then his taxicab license should be revoked.

Kunselman read aloud the criteria for evaluating an appeal, and concluded that he was comfortable with granting the appeal. Benson agreed with Kunselman that he’d had the same kind of thing happen to him with respect to traffic violations – but at the same time, Benson wondered what that meant in the future. Because the taxicab licenses are renewed each year, he was concerned about what would happen in May 31, 2013, when the license would need to be renewed. The 7 points would still be on the license. Was the board rendering the 6-point threshold essentially arbitrary – and would they be willing to go from 7 points to 8 points?

Adkins indicated that on May 31, the license would expire and Grenham would need to re-apply. Crawford indicated that for a previous appeal, the board had made it the driver’s responsibility to inform the board if another moving violation was committed. [That's a responsibility that is reflected in the ordinance language: "A driver who has more than 6 points on his or her driving record and who is charged with another moving violation shall report the fact of the new charge to the Administrator within 10 business days after the new charge was issued."]

Benson was satisfied that for Grenham’s situation, he was willing to grant the appeal, and made the motion.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to grant Grenham’s appeal.

Crawford confirmed with the board that it was their desire that if Crawford were notified of another moving violation, he would suspend Grenham’s taxicab license until the board met again. Kunselman’s concluding admonishment to Grenham was: “Drive safe!”

Meeting Schedule

Sarah Singleton, a financial services staffer who is the board’s recording secretary, gave some background on the scheduling issue. She began by saying that at the board’s last meeting, they’d decided to shift the meeting day to every fourth Tuesday, instead of Thursday. That proved to be problematic for the availability of the city council workroom, where the board holds its meetings. And it was important to hold the meeting in the council’s workroom, because it’s on the second floor of the city hall, which is the only floor accessible to the public after 5 p.m. So the suggestion was to shift the day back to Thursday.

Stephen Kunselman asked if newly appointed board member Eric Sturgis had been notified about that day’s meeting. Singleton and CFO Tom Crawford indicated that Sturgis would be able to make meetings on Thursdays at 6 p.m. – but 5:30 p.m. was problematic. According to Singleton, Sturgis had actually applied to the board at a time when the board met at 8 a.m. Kunselman wondered how far into the future the meeting schedule needed to be set. Singleton noted that as a public body, the taxicab board’s schedule needs to be set and posted so that the public understands when the meetings will be held on a consistent basis.

Kunselman wanted to accommodate city staff. Crawford indicated that for him, 6 p.m. wasn’t a problem. But he ventured that for Singleton, it would mean a little “extra duty.” Kunselman was inclined to leave the time at 5:30 p.m. and have Sturgis find a way to attend the meetings. But he entertained additional back-and-forth about the possibility of going back to an early morning time, as it was when Sturgis applied to be appointed to the board.

Outcome: The board voted to establish the meeting time/day for the board for the next six months as the fourth Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m.

Limousines vs. Taxicabs: Public Commentary

Several representatives from taxicab companies in Ann Arbor attend the board meetings on a regular basis. During public commentary, they raised what appears to be an ongoing complaint: Companies that provide limousine service (for a flat fare or negotiated fare, instead of a metered fare as taxicabs do) are operating in a dual capacity, offering taxicab services. Under the city’s ordinance, one of the prohibitions is the dual function of a limousine as a taxicab:

In addition to other prohibited conduct specified in this chapter, no person shall: …
Operate or permit the operation of a vehicle as a taxicab if a certificate of authority has been issued under the Limousine Transportation Act, MCL 257.1901, et seq. for the vehicle.

Another specific complaint voiced during public commentary is that limousine companies violate the “top light” rule, which disallows any vehicles except for taxicabs to have a light on the roof indicating “for hire”:

In addition to other prohibited conduct specified in this chapter, no person shall: …
Operate a vehicle held out to the public as a “taxicab”, “cab”, or “taxi” by way of advertising, “for hire” lights on the roof of the vehicle, or any other means, without obtaining appropriate licenses under this Chapter.

Jamie Adkins of the AAPD indicated that she was not sure if officers out on the street were completely versed on the question. Subsequent back-and-forth indicated there was awareness of the top-light issue by AAPD. [The situation might have less to do with awareness or willingness to enforce the top-light issue than it does with the fact that some limousines use top-lights that provide phone numbers, not the text "for hire," which might be analyzed as conforming with the top-light ordinance.]

Stephen Kunselman told the taxicab representatives that their concerns are well understood and that it was one of the issues the city’s lobbyist in Lansing was working on with the state legislature.

Present: Stephen Kunselman, Michael Benson, Tom Oldakowski, Tom Crawford (non-voting) and Jamie Adkins (non-voting). Also: Sarah Singleton.

Absent: Eric Sturgis.

The Chronicle could not survive without regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of public bodies like the city taxicab board. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’ve already hailed The Chronicle’s cab, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to help support The Chronicle, too!

Benson was added to the board in a one-step confirmation process – in a vote taken by the city council at its Aug. 20 meeting. Ordinarily, nominations to a board or a commission are first announced at a city council meeting, then confirmed by a council vote at a subsequent meeting.

The taxicab board will now consist of Benson, city councilmember Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), Tom Oldakowski, Tom Crawford (a non-voting ex officio member, as the city’s CFO) and Bill Clock (a non-voting ex officio member, as representative of the Ann Arbor police department).

The taxicab board is responsible for administering the city’s taxicab board ordinance. [.pdf of taxicab ordinance] Application forms to be appointed to city boards and commissions can be downloaded and returned to the mayor’s office for consideration.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

With Hull’s resignation, the seven-member body is reduced to four members – city councilmember Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3),  Tom Oldakowski, Tom Crawford (a non-voting ex officio member, as the city’s CFO) and Bill Clock (a non-voting ex officio member, as representative of the Ann Arbor police department). With only two out of five of its voting member positions filled, the board does not have a quorum to meet.

The next opportunity for appointments to be made to the board will come at the Aug. 9 city council meeting. Ordinarily the appointment process would take place in two steps – a nomination put forward by mayor John Hieftje at a council meeting, with the confirmation vote at a subsequent council meeting. However, the council has the option to approve the nomination at the same meeting.

Hull served on the taxicab board since being appointed on Oct. 18, 2010. He ran unsuccessfully in the 2011 Democratic primary for the Ward 2 council seat, contesting the Democratic nomination with incumbent Stephen Rapundalo. Hull’s resignation is prompted by his departure from Ann Arbor to take a job on the west coast.

As the city council representative to the board, Kunselman has announced during at least two city council meetings (Dec. 19, 2011 and March 5, 2012) that the city’s taxicab board has some vacancies.

The taxicab board is responsible for administering the city’s taxicab board ordinance. [.pdf of taxicab ordinance] Application forms to be appointed to city boards and commissions can be downloaded and returned to the mayor’s office.

This taxicab meter reads "VACANT" – just like two seats on Ann Arbor's taxicab board.

This little taxi ride is going to start where Mary Morgan’s milestone column last month left off – she drew a comparison between news media choices and transportation choices.

This column also will deliver readers to a destination that asks them to consider applying for a mayoral appointment to Ann Arbor’s taxicab board.

If you’d like to take a shortcut, then go ahead and download the application form for the city’s boards and commissions, and return it to the mayor’s office. The address is printed right on the form.

But the longer route will include some discussion about who’s paying the fare for this media cab we call The Ann Arbor Chronicle.

Last Friday evening, Mary Morgan and I ordered an actual cab to cover the 3/4 mile from our Old West Side neighborhood to the near edge of downtown Ann Arbor. Who on earth orders a cab to cover that short a distance? A journalist who needs a piece of art for a column involving taxis, that’s who. The trip required a detour from the planned route. That’s because Washington Street between Ashley and Main was closed for the FoolMoon festival – which we were headed downtown to see.

The taxicab driver circled around to have another go at it from Huron Street.  And he told us he’d knock a quarter mile off the final distance on the meter. He could exercise that discretion, because taxicab drivers function essentially as independent contractors, who lease the vehicles from the taxicab company each night.

There’s a limit to a cabbie’s discretion. I’m guessing he wouldn’t earn a livelihood if he decided just to let passengers ride for free, for as long as they liked, and expect that they might later send him an equitable fare. Yet if operating The Chronicle were like driving a cab, that’s what the voluntary subscriptions part of our business model would look like. 

The Chronicle Cab

So The Chronicle’s business model is different from that of a taxicab.  But when Mary Morgan drew an analogy in last month’s column between media choices and transportation choices, I asked myself: If The Chronicle were a transportation option, which form of transportation would it be – pedestrian, scooter, bicycle, car, bus, train, dirigible or something else?

And I concluded that reading The Chronicle is in many ways similar to taking a ride in a cab.

Cab drivers are stereotypically a talkative bunch. And I think that The Chronicle’s reports of public meetings that routinely exceed 10,000 words qualify us as a “talkative” publication. On a personal level, let’s just say I generally achieve some fairly robust words-per-mile statistics. Plenty of people can vouch for that – for example, anyone who has been trapped in a conversation with me, and has simply walked away to get me to stop talking.

For those who’ve never met me, I’ll offer this vignette by way of illustration. A few weeks ago, I bumped into the city’s transportation manager, Eli Cooper, on the sidewalk of Fifth Avenue, between Huron and Washington, across the street from the offices of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. Early in that conversation, Amber Miller, who’s a planning specialist with the DDA, walked past. It was around lunch time, so I imagine she was headed to lunch. Later in the conversation, she walked past us in the opposite direction. Cooper had stood his ground for a whole lunch period!

It’s worth noting that Amber exchanged pleasantries with us, but she had the sense not to stop and chat. She’s been there before. And she learns fast.

I think all those words The Chronicle uses to describe what goes on in our community are also probably a little bit like getting into a cab with a driver who wants to show a tourist the scenic route – the path through every back lane and alleyway of the city. It’s a path that does not use the major thoroughfares that would get you to a destination fastest. You know, the larger avenues, with names like Story-Telling Street, Conflict Crescent, Bombast Boulevard, and Rile’em-Up Road.

Unlike the stereotypical cabbie, who might be using the scenic route to add miles to the meter to boost the fare, we’re not adding those words to increase revenues. The scenic route doesn’t cost extra for a passenger in The Chronicle cab. To those Chronicle riders who send in a regular voluntary fare, thank you.

Taxicab Board

Close readers of The Chronicle will have noticed that Stephen Kunselman announced at two recent city council meetings (Dec. 19, 2011 and March 5, 2012) that the city’s taxicab board has some vacancies. Kunselman is the city council representative to that body, which consists of seven members total, two of whom are non-voting ex officio members.

Before pitching readers the idea of at least considering an application for an appointment to the taxicab board, here’s a question: How would anybody know about vacancies on city boards and commissions if they weren’t announced at city council meetings and reported by The Chronicle? During public commentary at the council’s Dec. 19 meeting, resident Michael Benson pointed out that the city’s online Legistar system did not at that time accurately reflect the full range of vacancies on city boards and commissions.

But since then, the Legistar system has been updated. It’s currently possible to generate online a list of all boards and commissions with vacancies. [The vacancy indicated on the AATA board is not accurate, but I believe the others to be true indications of vacancies.]

Back to the taxicab board. With two vacancies on a board of five voting members, the board needs perfect attendance to achieve a quorum. Recently the board needed to hold a special meeting – at a different time from the usual 8:30 a.m. on the last Thursday of the month – just to make sure it could achieve a quorum.

I’m not suggesting that a Chronicle reader apply for a mayoral appointment to the taxicab board just to fill the seats, or out of a sense of civic duty. There’s a place on the application labeled “Reasons for Seeking Appointment (Areas of Interest, Goals, etc.)” So you should have something sensible to write in that space.

Maybe you’re interested in mobility issues, and you see the availability of taxicabs that are safe, efficient and well-regulated as an important piece of a transportation system for the city. Maybe you have legal expertise and are attracted to participation in the hearing and grievance procedure for revocation of licenses. For any applicant, it’s probably worth reading through the taxicab ordinance. That’s the piece of legislation the board is responsible for administering. [.pdf of taxicab ordinance]

Taxicab board membership is not compensated. So what reward do you get for your three-year term of service? I think you might get some potential social capital out of the deal – you’ll expand your network and at least increase the number of “weak ties” you have in the community. With the other citizen members of the board, you never know who you’ll get, but right now they include a former candidate for city council (Tim Hull) and an attorney (Tom Oldakowski).

Also baked into the taxicab board membership are a city councilmember (currently Stephen Kunselman), and two ex officio non-voting positions – the city’s chief financial officer (currently Tom Crawford) and a representative from the police department (currently William Clock).

In the end, someone will need to step forward to serve on the taxicab board to pay the “civic fare” for the rest of the community. That someone could be you. Or maybe you know someone who might be interested. Thanks in advance for helping fill those slots.

And to the folks who help pay The Chronicle’s fare for the rest of the community, thanks for your support too. We’d love to have more of you on board with that in the future.

About the writer: Dave Askins is editor and co-founder of The Ann Arbor Chronicle. The Chronicle could not survive to count each milestone without regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of local government and civic affairs. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’re already supporting us, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to help support The Chronicle, too!

The revisions also add reasons that can be used for suspending an individual taxicab driver’s license, which include a city administrator’s view that a driver “has acted in an unprofessional, harassing or threatening manner to passengers, or others.”

At the council’s Oct. 17, 2011 meeting, when the revision had received its initial approval, Tom Crawford – the city’s chief financial officer – had briefed the council on the changes. Crawford serves as a non-voting member of the city’s taxicab board, which had recommended those changes. Crawford characterized the changes as falling in three areas. In the first area, related to licensing, Crawford said that in the past the city had seasonal operators who would want to come in and work the football season and then disappear. The ordinance is being changed so that if a company ceases operation for 45 days, the city can revoke the license. Crawford explained that a healthy taxicab industry needs stability and this is a mechanism to help guard against companies frequently coming in and out of the market.

Another area of change has to do with solicitations and how the companies represent themselves. Several companies advertise themselves as taxis, but they’re in fact limousines. Crawford characterized it as a safety issue for someone who believes a vehicle is a taxi, but it’s in fact a limo. [A taxi is per code "... accepting passengers for hire within the boundaries of the city as directed by the passenger." A limousine is pre-booked.] If a company holds itself out as a taxicab company, it has to be licensed as a taxicab company, Crawford said. [The city's taxicab code already prohibits advertising in the reverse direction – it prohibits taxicabs from holding themselves out as limousines.]

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]