Metropolitan Airport Commission Public Hearing

The Metropolitan Airports Commission held a public hearing today to receive testimony regarding proposed changes to Taxicab Ordinance #102. Normally that wouldn't appear on media radar. But it was well-attended by the media, with reporters from the Associated Press, the local Fox station, the Star-Tribune and the Pioneer-Press.



The proposed changes have to do with significantly increasing the penalty for refusing a passenger. The current penalty is that a cab driver has to go to the end of the line to pick up an airport passenger, which is roughly a waste of three to four hours of the cab driver's time. The proposal would increase the penalty to a 30-day suspension of the cab driver's airport licence for a first offence, and a revocation of the licence for a second offence.

Why is this a big deal? Because some Minneapolis cab drivers are refusing passengers who are carrying alcohol, on the grounds that it is a violation of their Islamic faith. The media covered this here, here and here, among a number of other places last month.

I heard about this meeting from little green footballs, and I decided to attend and bring some signs of resistance...



There was a presentation by the director of the airport, who mentioned that since they started tracking them in 2002, there have been over 5,000 trip refusals by Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) Airport taxicabs. The reasons for trip refusals have been short fares, riders wanting to use credit cards, riders wanting to use airline vouchers, people with guide dogs, and people carrying alcohol. He gave some practical safety reasons why trip refusals are a bad thing at MSP. They have received 1,500 emails encouraging the stronger penalties. The new regulations would take effect on May 11, when the taxicab permits are renewed.

There was another presentation by Arle Johnson, the director of airport ground transportation, who elaborated on the previous presentation by relating some travel horror stories that people have experienced. There was a family of four who waited for an hour for a taxi because they had a short distance to travel. There was someone who was refused a ride in two taxis, and when he got a ride in a third, one of first two refusing cabbies called the third cabbie on a cell phone, saying he might be carrying alcohol, which resulted in a severe questioning by the third cabbie. A Build-Your-Own teddy bear box was thought to have alcohol, and was the reason for a refusal. Johnson mentioned that this problem doesn't exist in other places in the Islamic world, and that no other US airports have this situation where cabbies are refusing passengers carrying alcohol. He mentioned that this situation cuts both ways. If some cabbies refuse passengers for various reasons, cab riders could start refusing cabbies for various reasons.

There were various people representing constituencies who spoke.

Hassan Mohammed, a local imam and leader of the Somali Peace and Justice Center, spoke against the changes, saying they were harsh and cruel, we should go back to negotiation and working it out, we should consider that the majority of airport cabbies are Muslims, etc. He mentioned that guide dogs are not a problem. In my opinion, he didn't do a very good job of explaining why cabbies refusing service to riders with alcohol is only a problem in the Twin Cities and nowhere else in America.

There were a number of users of guide dogs who spoke in favor of the changes, including Joyce Scanlon, leader of the Minnesota Organization of the Blind, and Rebecca Kragnes, leader of the Minnesota Guide Dog Users Association. They were all burning with righteous indignation and ready to remind people about their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the herculean efforts they made to secure those rights. There were about 50 or 60 cabbies in the room, and I think a few of them thought, "You know, getting into a public relations battle with a bunch of blind people just isn't going to work."





Maureen Scanlon (no relation to Joyce that I know of) of the Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Bureau mentioned the convention of 300 guide dog users that is going to be in Minneapolis this summer, and mentioned the upcoming Republican national convention. She mentioned the ill-will and negative economic effects generated by unpleasant taxicab experiences.

A representative of the Teamsters Union spoke, and said the reason everything stinks with the cabbies is because they're independent contractors instead of employees. Commissioner Mike Lindy tried to refocus him on the proposed rule changes.

Nathaniel Khaliq of the NAACP spoke. He gestured to the cabbies and twice referred to them as "these brothers." He basically said that even though the public is enthusiastic about the rule changes, it doesn't mean that it's the right thing.

I got to say something. I don't think I did a very good job of saying what I meant. I wanted to say something to the effect that I don't want to be made by the airport to practice another person's religion.

The cabbies had a chance to speak. While they were unanimously against the proposed changes, some were a little more focused on the subject at hand. Others were complaining that they couldn't go to the bathroom while waiting in the airport line. Others were mad that Northwest Airlines took more than 60 days to repay cab vouchers. They unanimously condemned refusing service to a guide dog user. One cabbie said that the cabbies would serve the guide dog users this summer free of charge. The cabbies considered the fact that this isn't a problem in Mogadishu to be irrelevant, as people don't carry around alcohol anyway.

This meeting started at 2:00, and was still going at 5:00 when I left. I grasp that the Metropolitan Airports Council is amassing ammunition to smack down the cabbies with these rule changes. I grasp that the cabbies and the Muslim activists have different agendas: the cabbies have a war going on with the MAC over various things, and the whole refusing-riders-with-alcohol thing is another front in their war with the MAC, while the Muslim activists are exploiting the various discontents of the cabbies for their own purposes. But the cabbies did not succeed today in portraying themselves as sympathetic victims wishing merely to exercise their First Amendment rights.

UPDATE: Welcome Hiiraan Online readers! Assalam Alaikum! There are Hiiraan Online readers visiting here from Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, Canada, Australia and Zambia, as well as from the US. Crossword Bebop is generally non-political. What you will usually find around here is blogging about crossword puzzles, reflections on words and music, and some miscellaneous ramblings.