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RVC denies Village Car Service’s appeal

Decision leaves All-Island as sole taxi provider in Rockville Centre

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At a Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, the village denied Lynbrook-based Village Car Service’s appeal to operate a taxi company in Rockville Centre, leaving All-Island Transportation as the sole taxi provider.

The decision has been on hold since the last hearing on the subject, in June, and it was not on the agenda for the village’s briefing session on Sept. 5.

The decision was not discussed at the board meeting. “Under all circumstances, the board concludes that Village Car Services failed to meet its burden of proof,” said Village Administrator Keith Spadaro. “The appeal is denied.”

Under village law, companies that want to operate a taxi service within village boundaries — picking up and dropping off customers in the village — need to be licensed by Rockville Centre. Any company can pick up or drop off residents in the village, but only licensed companies can do both in the same trip.

“After reviewing and hearing all of the information provided by residents and Village Car Service, the board believes that it would be in the best interest of the residents to uphold the village administrator’s original decision to deny Village Car Service’s application for a taxi license,” Mayor Francis Murray said in a statement to the Herald. “The applicant did not demonstrate the required showing of the need for any additional taxi service. Moreover, residents have expressed concern over the absence of a staging area presented by Village Car Service, causing its vehicles to travel from outside the village, double-park or cruise around our streets. This decision will help to protect our residents from issues of congestion and double-parking, particularly around the train station.”

Village Car Service filed its original application to operate a taxi service in the village two years ago. In January, Spadaro rejected it, saying that he didn’t think the village needed another car service. VCS appealed the decision in May, leaving it to the Board of Trustees to go over its application and decide whether or not to award the license.

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