The Limos.com Forum Has Moved!!!

When taxicab Barons get into the limousine business. Note I printed Taxicab Barons. Not the cabbie tired of forking over $2k a month to the taxicab Barons & deciding to move out on his own.

Why is this thread important? If you are a non-taxicab passenger transportation service chances are Taxi Barons have influenced your business in one way or another.

Ranging from being prohibited from placing sedans in service due to caps, use of more economical vehicles, higher insurance minimums, permitting fees, airport use fees and a myriad of economically regulatory measures imposed by your city or the transportation hub city that your clients need transfers to & from, there is a taxi Baron behind it or worse, a traitor from within the Limo Industry working in concert with the Taxi Baron..

Typical Taxicab scenario:
City &/or County sets maximum taxi permits based on population & holds lotteries to pass out additional permits as the population increases.

The Taxi Baron who may or may not be located in a particular city controls the largest cab service in town.

In addition to the large company over the years the taxi Baron buys smaller companies but does not disassemble the smaller companies and absorb into the larger one but keeps the smaller companies as seperate entities.

The Baron leases out the vehicles to what are supposed to be Independent Contractors for fees often exceeding $2k a month. We are talking fleets of 300-500 cabs generating $2k a month each in revenue.

Now comes lotto time for additional permits. The Baron submits for all companies under his control to up the odds he will obtain a large percentage of the permits up for grabs.

Ignorant or not so ignorant politicians will claim that they spread the permits out amongst 7 companies & there is no taxi monopoly in their town where in reality only 2 individuals (the Barons) received the permits.

In the meantime, the Barons are hungry, power hungry. They are building an empire that spans cities and counties or even states. So what do they do while waiting for more taxi permits to be made available? The Luxury Sedans look just fine with maybe a couple of shuttles to throw into the mix.


Open competition? Free market entry? Not on your life! It's not the taxi way of thinking. So the Taxi Baron reaches into his small stash & starts buying regulation and when he gets the number of permits he wants he ensures that the door slams on any additional permits with caps such as placed on the taxicabs.

Now he lands up with a fleet of several hundred luxury sedans that are leased out for $2k or more a month.

Then he starts the Walmart game & targets the smaller sedan permit holders and as they are about to fold, takes over the company (permits).

And when more luxury sedan permits come up for grabs, here is the taximo Baron placing bids under 5 company names.

Could such affect your future?

To be continued............

If I remember correctly, this Guy use to get several test cars from Cadillac to use as Taxi Cabs.

If one reads that article concerning Pittsburgh, the Taxihead agreed not to prolong the fight providing the small cabbie stays out of the taxiheads turf & AP plus agrees to sell the business to the taxihead for no more than $10k if the little guy falls on his face.

All of this mediation through the State! Think those politicos are getting some free trips to Bermuda?

Log onto Pitts Trans Group & look what they're into. More than taxicabs.

Kind of makes me want to join the TLPA for sure.

The only bright side is that this taxihead loss an OT wage case when he was sued by his employee's.

Having been in the Taxi business for several years, it sounds like The Gunny has it right. I was never in a situation where there was one "Taxi Barron" because in the small city I operated in there were only two Companies and only 20 Permits to be had. We had 10 the other Guy had 10. I will say this, the Guy we bought our company from was the "Taxi Barron" of the 40's and 50's as he did have several different Company names that he had acquires over the years. We owned them all but only operated under one name.

quote:

Originally posted by gunny:
Featured TAXIMO Baron

James Campolongo, Voting Past President TLPA, The Pittsburgh Transportation Group

Pittsburgh Transportation Group

Recent article on the workings of a TAXIMO Baron

David-vs-Goliath

You know after reading this story about this guy the only word that came to my mind was COWARDLY. Only cowards need government regulations to keep them in business.

Featured TAXIMO Baron

James Campolongo, Voting Past President TLPA, The Pittsburgh Transportation Group

Pittsburgh Transportation Group

Recent article on the workings of a TAXIMO Baron

David-vs-Goliath