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When you go vote Tuesday, you'll be asked to allow more taxis on Anchorage streets. It's called Proposition Eight. Some are calling the ads opposing it "misleading."
A lot of people are referring to the idea as taxi deregulation. But as many pointed out, what is mostly being decided is whether voters want to allow more people to own taxi permits. Currently, it's capped at 162.
You can tell how much money is at stake by all the ads you've seen. Taxi permits in Anchorage are now worth around 100,000 dollars; but their value would dramatically fall if anybody were allowed to get one.
In their ads, the permit owners claim lifting the permit cap will lead to bad service and higher prices. It's something we heard from their transportation expert, Ray Mundy.
"It seems like, 'Gee, the more competition we have, the better off we're going to be.' Uh, just the opposite happens. Prices don't go down; they go up," said Professor Mundy of the Center for Transportation Studies.
The only problem with his argument is that fares in Anchorage aren't far from the maximum right now. The municipality will continue to regulate how much cabbies can charge--even if the permit cap is lifted.
So what's the big deal about lifting the cap?
The man who got the idea on the ballot says it's about making sure there are enough taxis in a growing city.
"I mean, look around. I mean this place is growing like gangbusters. It's uh, hotels are sprouting up left and right. And the convention center. They keep telling us that the convention center's going to bring us all sorts of new visitors. Yet, we're not supposed to have new cabs? You know, it's a whole racket," said Ryan Kennedy who favors lifting the permit cap.
But Professor Mundy warns there could be unintended consequences. He envisions more cabbies fighting for the same number of riders and heading to the airport where a larger number of customers can be found.
"Oversupply at the airport means inefficiencies there. You end up with a cab service that primarily serves just the airport and another service that serves the rest of the community," said Professor Mundy.
Don't we have that already?
"You have a little bit of that, but it would be a lot worse if you just opened it up to anyone that wanted to pay $300-$400 and be in the cab industry," said Professor Mundy.
But not just anyone is going to be able to drive a cab, even if voters lift the permit cap. The office that regulates taxis says the municipality will still enforce qualifications for drivers, as well as strict standards for how they do
Professor Mundy wrote a report about taxi service in Anchorage. He found that most people only have to wait seven to 10 minutes for a taxi right now.
Though, if you live in Eagle River, you'll wait half an hour. Girdwood residents have to wait more than an hour. CBS 11 News research found that you'll be charged about $2.50 a mile. Mundy says with high gas and insurance prices in Anchorage, he's impressed it's not higher.
If you have a story for the I-Team that you want me to look into, you can call the I-Team hotline number at 273-3111.
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