Taxi congestion in downtown Denver is so bad that some cabbies will refuse to drive a short trip — despite a law requiring them to take the fare — when a longer, more profitable one might come along, an undercover investigation by one of the cab companies recently found.
The hidden-camera analysis by Metro Taxi illustrates a point some cab companies have been trying to make: that Denver already has a glut of taxis and state approval of 300 more will only make matters worse.
The three-member Colorado Public Utilities Commission is set to discuss Tuesday whether to give 150 more permits to Colorado Cab — better known as Denver Yellow Cab, the city’s second-largest and Metro’s top competitor — and another 150 to startup Liberty Taxi.
A magistrate for the agency already gave his approval for the permits, but several appeals of that decision require the commission to take it up directly.
With the PUC hearing looming, Metro hired Heartland Investigative Group in March to address complaints that cabbies were violating laws that involve refusing fares and parking illegally.
Metro not only got undercover video showing the violations do occur, but also saw firsthand how some of the problems are associated with too many cabs.
Illegal parking, refusing short-trip fares, discourteous behavior — all are clearly shown on the video clips.
“The number of drivers already (downtown) don’t have the business, but you add more and the problems will be amplified,” said Kyle Brown, general manager at Metro who was a driver 16 years ago.
Representatives from the other cab companies, including Union and Freedom, did not return e-mail and telephone requests for comment.
Several drivers approached by The Denver Post on Friday similarly refused to discuss the video unless their names were not published.
“It’s the only way to make money,” said one driver outside the Sheraton hotel downtown. “Without the airport trip, there aren’t enough trips in a day.”
Said another driver, this one outside the Hyatt Regency Denver: “It seems like we’re all trying to get the same nickel.”
The investigation came as a result of police requests earlier this year to sit down with cab companies, hotel managers and business owners to improve relationships among the three.
The resulting Taxi Forum yielded an idea that was popular until the video surfaced last month — to have “deputy drivers” whose job would be to mediate disputes between cabbies and hotel doormen.
Brown said he was on board with the idea until the undercover video showed problems were far greater than initially believed.
“I guess we were just closing our eyes,” he said, noting that cab companies often get consumer complaints of refused trips.
In the video, shot by Heartland’s Dennis Gavalier, dozens of cabdrivers are shown refusing his request to take a short trip of a few blocks. Instead, most of the drivers pointed and gave Gavalier walking directions.
Though some drivers did take Gavalier, most didn’t. Those who did typically charged $5 for the two- or three-block trip and didn’t run the meter — both violations.
In nearly every case, the cab was first in line at a hotel taxi stand — a prime locale for any cabbie wanting a $57 fare to Denver International Airport. Taking a short fare would mean the cabdriver almost certainly would lose his spot in line and the ensuing fare.
“Cabdrivers will go where the business is,” Brown said. “If you give out 300 new permits, where will they go? Downtown, of course.”
The videos also show cabdrivers parked illegally — at meters where taxis are prohibited from parking — almost always as a means to land the coveted spot on the taxi stand when one opened.
Violations were noted by drivers for all the companies, including Metro.
“It was embarrassing, yes,” Brown said, “but it’s a learning tool. We need to look deeply at what’s going on.”
Metro provided copies of the videos to The Post.
No drivers at Metro were disciplined — it’s unclear what happened at the other companies — but all who were identified in the video were told of its contents.
The same PUC magistrate to approve the 300 permits months earlier denied a request for 150 permits by Mile High Cab, a startup that waited two years for his decision. Part of his decision noted a concern with taxi congestion downtown. That case is on appeal in district court.
Metro has the most permits at 492. In all, there are four companies with 1,304 permits.
Mayor Guillermo “Bill” Vidal told the commission in a letter May 9 that the number of cabs downtown is “divisive and explosive.”
He recommended the commission refuse additional permits until the forum has a chance to adopt a code of conduct and address other issues.
David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com
