Changes to a Prince George’s taxicab bill that nearly doubled the number of certificates for drivers would bring the county’s taxi industry back to its corrupt ways, former council chairman Tom Dernoga said.
Legislation supported by Dernoga in August called for over 400 new taxicab certificates to be issued to independent drivers, a measure he said would force the county’s three main cab companies into a more competitive environment.
But a new bill, sponsored by Councilman Will Campos, D-Hyattsville, would cap the number of certificates at 1,044, about the same number of certificates now available in Prince George’s.
“Eliminating any future certificates undermines the intent to minimize monopolization,” Dernoga said. “It show’s that pay-to-play is still going on in the county.”
More than 100 taxicab drivers attended a public hearing on the bill Tuesday morning, most in opposition of the bill.
Former County Executive Wayne Curry, a lobbyist for Paramount and Silver cab companies, said the Campos bill was a good compromise for drivers and passengers.
“This puts a reasonable level of certificates in the law so the government would at least have a chance to regulate this service,” Curry said.
