Menino slammed by fellow candidates over cab drivers on cell phones

Tom Menino hammered on chatty cabbies

By O’Ryan Johnson | Saturday, August 15, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics

Mayoral hopeful Michael Flaherty yesterday slammed the Menino administration for failing to enforce a ban on cabbies gabbing on cell phones while driving, saying the city should free up police by creating a new civilian panel to regulate the taxi business.

“This outdated system was established in 1934 and clearly, it does not serve the taxi industry in the 21st centry,” said Flaherty, an at-large city councilor. “We need the police on the streets focused on fighting crime, not babysitting the taxi industry. The industry would be better served by a body made up of individuals from the business community and citizens focused on reforming the industry.”

The Herald reported yesterday that the Boston Police Hackney Division has handed out a mere 20 citations since the ban on using a cell phone with a passenger on board went into effect Jan. 1. The story also noted that many cabbies said they are unaware of the gab order.

Under the current rules, the mayor’s office and police create and enforce rules and regulations for taxis and taxi drivers.

Also yesterday, the Menino administration lost a crucial legal battle when a federal judge struck down a year-old rule mandating that taxi owners replace their fleets with hybrid vehicles by 2015.

Federal Judge William Young ruled yesterday that the regulation violated 1975 environmental legislation.

Another mayoral candidate, City Councilor Sam Yoon, said the city wasted time and taxpayer money by allowing a dispute that could have been settled at a conference table to go to court instead.

“This is all too typical. Our first instinct is never to sit down with folks and hammer out a solution,” Yoon said. “This is about setting reasonable goals and creating a strategy of how to get there.”

But Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce said that the administration and taxi owners sat down when the idea was proposed. “There was an agreement and it was hammered out,” Joyce said. “That’s how it gets done.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1191113