A taxicab industry advocate urged Montgomery County Council members on Tuesday to extend a temporary identification program for taxicab licenses that lets drivers operate without waiting for the results of a federal background check.
Last October, County Council members voted to permit the use of temporary licenses through this August, because cab company operators said they were losing drivers due to lengthy federal background checks. The temporary license is issued after drivers pass the state background check and a county written and oral exam.
However, county officials have said that five temporary licenses have been revoked since the program began after criminal incidents in the drivers’ pasts came to light.
Retha Arens, director of Coalition for a Competitive Taxicab Industry, said the county has seen a net increase of about 150 drivers since November 2006 but that 19 percent of area cabs still need drivers.
She asked the council to extend the temporary identification program through December 2008.
“Without drivers, we cannot serve our customers,” Arens said.
Council Member Phil Andrews said he had some concerns about the temporary license program.
“Customer service is important, but one of the other interests the county has is public safety and making sure that drivers are not a threat to their passengers,” Andrews said. He added that he’d appreciate additional information about why the initial state background checks had not turned up information about the criminal records of applicants whose temporary licenses were later revoked.
Carolyn Biggins, division of transit services chief, told the council her department was not opposed to the bill but suggested amending it to allow the county to immediately revoke the temporary identification if the second criminal background check showed any information that would make a driver ineligible.
