Anyone who's ever attempted to take a taxi in the Hamptons knows the system is a bit...broken. From exorbitant fares to reckless driving, the whole thing feels totally lawless and the Town of East Hampton is finally attempting to do something about it.
Over the past two years, the number of for-hire cars on the roads each summer has doubled and a big portion are livery cabs from other parts of Long Island; these beige and black cars come as far as Nassau County to try and cash in on the lucrative seasonal crowds. And since there are no rules about how much livery cars can charge, it's virtually impossible to get in one without being gouged. Part of the Town's new rule proposals would seek to address the number of livery cabs allowed and make them clearly post their rates.
But the town is also planning new rules that would affect actual taxis, too, and local cab companies are not pleased. The town says:
The purpose of the legislation was basically to protect the local cab companies from ingress of ? foreign cab companies. At the same time, we wanted to ensure that those cabs are safe and that the drivers are safe drivers for the people that they are transporting. To that end, the town is proposing rules that would require background checks for drivers, higher insurance coverage, and the requirement that cars are less than 10 years old and/or have fewer than 250,000 miles. But local taxi companies think all this will "spell doom" for their business and have hired fancy lawyers to try to stop the new rules from going into effect. In the meantime, there's always Hamptons Free Ride.
· Taxi Businesses Owners Oppose New East Hampton Town Board Proposed Regulations [27 East]
· Town Board Vets Taxi Legislation Amendments [Patch]
· Here's Where We Ask You For Your Hamptons Taxi Horror Stories [Curbed Hamptons]
· All Taxi Coverage [Curbed Hamptons]
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