What do you think of the taxi deregulation proposal?

In next week’s municipal election, one of the issues facing Anchorage voters is taxi deregulation. Currently, taxi permits are regulated by the city and are very costly, effectively limiting the number of taxis that are on the streets. In fact, the last taxi permit was issued in 1994.

Proponents of proposition 8 argue that the deregulation will create more competition, resulting in more cabs and lower fares.  They say that the free market is the best decider of how many taxis should be out on the streets.  More taxis on the roads will also lead to better service to outlying communities like Girdwood and Eagle River, that currently have little or no taxi service.

The proposition’s opponents argue that deregulating Anchorage’s taxi industry would flood the streets with cabs, and lower the overall quality of service. There have been some pretty outrageous commercials on the radio and TV the past few weeks, claiming that deregulating taxis in Anchorage will lead to some sort of taxi “wild west” scenario, where drivers are allowed charge whatever they want, take tourists on ridiculously long routes, toss your baggage around, etc. You can see one of the commercials here on YouTube.

I’m always suspicious of this type of industry-sponsored campaign, where instead of hard facts they use outrageous claims, trying to scare people into voting their way. If they actually had real facts or data to backup their claims, why don’t they use them in their commercials?

I haven’t seen anything that would lead me to believe that deregulating the taxis in Anchorage will be a bad thing.  There may be a certain period of time while everything is in flux when conditions may not be ideal, but in the long run, I truly believe that letting the free and open market determine the number of taxis on the road is the way to go.

What do you think about all this?  Do you take taxis often?  Do you think the overall quality of service will go up or down if the taxis are deregulated?