Cab Companies

For an instant yesterday afternoon, Johnanna R. Kirkland was a winner.Fleeting victory came when she heard the man at the podium read aloud the seven-digit number on her ticket: 2-7-4-1-4-3-9. She could scarcely believe it."Whoa. That's me," she declared, loud enough to be heard three rows back from where she sat.Success at last. The little scrap of paper was a chance at a better life, to be her own boss, work her own hours, and most importantly, it meant money for her kids.Pats on the back from fellow taxicab drivers.

A retired Pikesville man said yesterday he may drop plans to operatea taxi service here because the City Council has failed to act on his application for a license.The council referred the application Monday from the Stan Cab Co. to its finance committee, which will return to the board with a recommendation.The applicant, Melvin L. Wolpert, expressed dissatisfaction with the council's action and said he may not go ahead with his plans to operate in Westminster. Wolpert said he applied for a license in mid-December.

I LISTEN to all these taxicab experts, not one of whom drives a cab, and I laugh. I'm just a cabbie, not a taxicab expert, but I have a few ideas of my own on how we can improve cab service in Baltimore. Here they are:First, I'd charge at least $2 every time I responded to a call less than 30 minutes old and didn't get a paying fare for my trouble. Or, if I couldn't collect, I'd want the company to put that address in its computer so the next driver could get the money. And if the people weren't there a second time, I wouldn't send them any more cabs until they paid up. This would eliminate all problems with radio call service, because radio calls would become profitable for the drivers.

Ten taxicab companies in Baltimore City and Baltimore County filed an application with the Maryland Public Service Commission yesterday to allow them to raise taxi rates by 21 percent.If granted, passengers in Baltimore would pay $1.30 more for a 5-mile ride and passengers in Baltimore County would pay $1.25 more, said Mark L. Joseph, president of the Maryland Cab Association, which represents the majority of taxi companies in the state.The increase would be the first in seven years.Joseph, who also is president and chief executive of Yellow Transportation Inc. -- which owns three of the cab companies -- said the rate increase is needed to attract and retain qualified drivers.

For an instant yesterday afternoon, Johnanna R. Kirkland was a winner.Fleeting victory came when she heard the man at the podium read aloud the seven-digit number on her ticket: 2-7-4-1-4-3-9. She could scarcely believe it."Whoa. That's me," she declared, loud enough to be heard three rows back from where she sat.Success at last. The little scrap of paper was a chance at a better life, to be her own boss, work her own hours, and most importantly, it meant money for her kids.Pats on the back from fellow taxicab drivers.

This is how bad taxicab service has gotten in this city:Last month, James Gashel of the National Federation of the Blind, was scheduled to meet with members of the Taxicab Owners Association to talk about the problem of poor cab service.So, the president of one of the city's largest cab companies sent one of his taxis to pick Gashel up."The cab was 15 minutes late," said Gashel with a sad chuckle. "In fact, as we were heading out, we got a radio call from the dispatcher because [the president]

When important clients of Waverly Press ask the Baltimore company's receptionist to call a cab for a ride to the airport, Karen Murrell calls several cab companies in succession, asking for taxis right away in the hopes that one, at least, will respond quickly.Willy Gilliard, who owns a cab in the city, says that half the time he responds to a phone request the customer isn't there when JTC arrives, and that plenty of times he's seen three competitors pull up at the same address with him.A coalition of customers and taxi companies has developed a plan to stop the cycle.

While what Uber Technologies says is essentially true that they own no vehicles and do not have drivers, they are clearly providing transportation through their app ("PSC to decide if Uber must comply with taxi rules," May 16). Any driver who owns a car can sign up with Uber, and Uber will refer people requesting transportation to them. It is essentially the same as picking up the phone and calling a taxicab. The real issue is the safety of the riding public. A taxicab in Baltimore must meet a number of stringent rules and regulations.

One of the attractions of Klines' Cab Co. wasn't the ride in the back of a Packard, the gab of the driver, or a cruise through then-undeveloped Towson.It was calling the dispatch office and talking to Winifred Mary Kline. Passengers always got a pleasant earful with Mrs. Kline -- and a cab to pick them up on time."She had a good personality and knew about a lot of things," said Mary Lerner, a passenger and friend who was a longtime Towson resident and now lives in Baltimore. "Sometimes you'd call and forget that wanting the cab is why you called."

O. Felix Townsend, who drove the streets of Baltimore for more than 50 years as a taxicab owner-operator, died Tuesday of heart failure at Millennium Health and Rehabilitation Center in Glen Burnie. The former Severna Park resident was 92. Born in Horntown on Virginia's Eastern Shore, Mr. Townsend spent his boyhood in Stockton, Va., before moving to Baltimore in the 1920s. He received a diploma from the old Baltimore Business College and was a clerk at Baker, Watts & Co., an investment banking company then at Calvert and Redwood streets in downtown Baltimore.