Cabbies block streets, protesting Parking Authority 'robbers'
Cabbies from all over Philadelphia yesterday flooded the streets outside the Philadelphia Parking Authority's offices to protest what they said were unreasonable fee increases, unfair parking-ticket practices and a problematic credit-card system.
Cabbies from all over Philadelphia yesterday flooded the streets outside the Philadelphia Parking Authority's offices to protest what they said were unreasonable fee increases, unfair parking-ticket practices and a problematic credit-card system.
Chanting "The PPA are robbers!" and honking their horns, dozens of cabbies stopped their taxis on Market Street near 30th, blocking three lanes and snarling traffic about 11 a.m. Later, they gathered outside a PPA facility in Center City, shutting down whole blocks of 9th, 10th and Filbert streets.
Ronald Blount, president of the Unified Taxi Workers Alliance, accused the PPA of "taking money from the people who can least afford it."
Blount and his fellow protesters said that the fee for transferring a medallion from one cab to another is outrageous.
"They've raised the fees to move those two screws out of a cab to $200," he said.
But the transfer of a medallion from one vehicle to another requires a vehicular inspection that is a "very, very expensive process," said Jim Ney, executive director of the PPA's taxi and limousine division.
"This is the first increase since 2005, and all it is is an attempt to recoup some of the costs because we are a self-sustaining program."
The cabbies also protested what they called "drive-by ticketing," which they said happens when PPA officers issue tickets to cabbies without giving them a hard copy.
Blount said that the PPA blames cabbies for driving off before officers can give them the ticket, which he disputes.
"Eighty percent of us have had one drive-by ticket," Blount said.
Often, cabbies don't find out they have a ticket until they receive late notices, at which point it is too late to appeal, they said.
"The PPA in Philadelphia has turned itself into a robber without a gun," said Femi Olaniyi, vice president of the alliance.
Ney said that the authority designated a taxi-industry liaison to field ticket complaints.
"They can request a GPS investigation, if they feel they were not at that location," Ney said.
Blount and others also criticized the credit-card system used in the cabs, saying cabbies were not receiving their money.
Ney said that the cabbies "believe the vendor [VTS] is withholding thousands and thousands of dollars from drivers - and this is just not the case."
He said about 20 drivers are owed a combined $1,100 and haven't received their money because "they haven't shared account changes with VTS or with us." *
