Rockville Centre Letters to the Editor

Taxis need competition

To the Editor:

The village administration decided not to allow competition in Rockville Centre as it relates to taxi service, a blatant and questionable disregard for the inherent and competitive nature of the concept of business. So what do we as taxpayers, residents and visitors to the Village of Rockville Center get for this decision?

Cabs that are dirty, smelly, in disrepair, with radios playing music or some talk show to amuse the driver and annoy the passenger, especially after a hard day’s work, and not getting to customers’ homes or other pickup locations in a fair amount of time when we really need the service.

I called All Island Taxi the other day at about 8 a.m., and half an hour later no one had showed up, so I got in the car and drove to Manhattan instead of taking the train.

There have been times when I took a cab home from the railroad station, and because there were so many people in one car, I could have run home quicker. With this sort of service, if there are four people in one car, why should we be paying $5 for a ride within the village?

Who in their infinite wisdom decided that All Island Taxi should have a monopoly on the taxi service in this town? Has the mayor, village trustees and/or village administrator ever called a taxi or actually sat in one of the cars banging down the street? Competition improves a product: it’s a fact.

If another company was allowed to do business in Rockville Centre, I guarantee the cars would not be in disrepair, they wouldn’t be filthy inside and when someone called for a cab, it would be there when it was needed.

All of the warning lights are on in many of the vehicles. Service reminders, air pressure sensors lit up, etc. Who maintains these vehicles? They are driving the residents of the village and others to their destinations. Don’t we deserve to be in safe cars?

This needs to be addressed again, and I would like to know why a competing company has been shut out of Rockville Centre.

Burton Diamond

Rockville Centre