They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot

Taxi cab drivers and riders spoke and the city listened. Roy's Taxi has been hoping to sell its family business that has been around for over 70 years to Yellow Cab of Houston for several months, but last night the Urban Transportation Commission put an end to that hope. The UTC voted unanimously to block the sell of Roy's to Yellow, fearing that the sell, which would give Yellow Cab 77% of the taxi business in Austin, would create a monopoly. Drivers for Roy's took exception to the fact that Yellow Cab charges their drivers $50 more a week in terminal fees, while residents expressed concerned over Yellow Cab's lack of prioritization of rides for disabled citizens along with a seeming lack of attention and respect given to passengers requiring rides from certain areas in Austin, specifically East Austin. The Velasquez family, which has owned Roy's since 1931, wants to retire from the business and now fear they are left with no viable alternative. While we feel for the Velasquez family's inability to sell to the highest bidder, we side with the cabbies on this one. Monopolies equal bad news.

A list of the three cab companies doing business in Austin. [Information from the Statesman article]:

• Roy's Taxi Inc.: Licensed for 155 cabs and charges each driver terminal fees of $220 a week.
  
• Yellow Cab Co.: Licensed for 304 cabs and charges each driver terminal fees of $270 a week.
  
• Austin Cab Co.: Licensed for 139 cabs and charges each driver terminal fees of about $220 a week.
  

*Image (c) Moriza on Flickr*