Seattle City Council approves rules for taxis

Seattle's taxi fleet will become larger, greener and more tightly regulated under legislation approved Monday by the City Council.

The new rules were approved despite protests from taxi owners, who called them onerous and unnecessary.

Chris Van Dyk, a lobbyist for the Seattle Taxi Owners Association, complained that Mayor Greg Nickels' office had refused to meet with owners or consider alternatives before pushing the new rules.

But the vote was greeted with cheers and several standing ovations by many in the crowd of more than 100 taxi drivers who attended Monday's council meeting.

"The industry has been dominated by the owners," said Bashi Hassan, who organized fellow drivers to support the new rules. He told the council, "God bless you."

The drivers were particularly happy with a provision allowing the city to set a maximum lease rate that owners can charge, as well as a requirement that all leases be in writing and filed with the city.

As part of Seattle's efforts to fight global warming, the law also requires all Seattle taxis to get at least 30 miles per gallon by 2013. Nickels' office said that will reduce the greenhouse-gas emissions of the current taxi fleet by 40 percent.

The law also will boost the number of taxi licenses in Seattle, from the current 643 to a new cap of 850. Annual fees for the licenses will be raised to $600 from the current $250.

The city will issue up to 35 new licenses per year through a lottery or public bidding. People who acquire the new licenses will be required to drive the taxis themselves and will be prohibited from selling the licenses for five years.

Because the number of licenses is limited, they have grown extremely valuable and are sometimes sold for $100,000 or more.

City Councilmember Sally Clark said she was concerned that the city was setting up new regulations on taxi leases without solid evidence that they were needed.

While drivers told stories of mistreatment by taxi owners, the owners portrayed those as exaggerations dredged up by a disgruntled minority of drivers.

"The lack of data to base a decision on has been frustrating," said Clark.

She persuaded the council to pass an amendment requiring city regulators to prepare a detailed report on taxi leases and to submit it before setting the cap on lease rates.

Despite that concern, the council vote on the new taxi rules was 7-0, with Councilmembers Richard McIver and Nick Licata absent.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or