Judge:Disney can bar some cab drivers

[toby78]

Here is the article from the Orange County Register. Tell us what you think about this issue. I think those who use taxicabs to get around when staying at a Disney hotel are going to be affected.......



ANAHEIM – Disney can immediately begin dealing with one preferred taxi company and bar all other cab drivers from picking up passengers at their properties, an Orange County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday.
The Hilton and Marriott hotels near the Anaheim Convention Center already deal exclusively with the one company Disney will now work with – Yellow Cab of Greater Orange County.
Disney and hotel officials said they prefer to work with one company that can guarantee a high level of service and operates primarily with clean-burning vehicles.
The ruling was a major blow to dozens of cab drivers who said they rely on Disneyland properties, Hilton and Marriott for up to 85 percent of their business and could be forced to look for other employment, if the ruling stands.
"Right now I'm making $40 a night, and I owe my company $60 a night just to pay my lease," said Salomon Kebede, a cab driver for A-Taxi, one of the two other companies permitted in Anaheim but now barred from Disney and the major hotels. "I don't know what I am going to do now."
Maryann Cazzell, an attorney for the excluded cab drivers, had asked for a preliminary injunction that would have prohibited Disney from operating with one provider, saying it created a virtual monopoly and would cause irreparable harm to the other drivers.
Judge James Di Cesare ruled against the injunction "without prejudice," which allows the issue to be reheard with new evidence.
The judge said he needed more "cold, hard facts" about market share and how the excluded cab companies would be harmed.
Cazzell said she anticipates re-filing the case but hadn't decided how quickly.
"We don't believe there will be enough service to the city with only one cab company serving these locations," Cazzell said. "It could force these cab drivers out of Anaheim. (But) the other party being damaged is the public.''
Disney officials said that they had hoped to begin operating with the preferred taxi company on Nov. 18, but the judge blocked that until he heard arguments Thursday.
The ruling allows Disney to begin working solely with Yellow Cab of Greater Orange County immediately.
But Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown said the company will not immediately implement the change and it likely won't come until after Jan. 1.
"Our intention is to provide our Disneyland Resort guests with the best possible experience," Brown said previously in a statement. "After reviewing proposals from several companies, we selected Yellow Cab of Greater Orange County to provide taxicab services to the Disneyland Resort."
Charles Lantz, a manager for Yellow Cab, said his company is ready to make the transition immediately.
"We were ready three weeks ago," Lantz said outside the courtroom Thursday. "We won today, and we think we will win if this case does come back before the court. This is about us being able to provide quality service 24/7, and a company's right to work with us."




So in other words, we won't get to pick which taxi service we want to use when staying at Disney.I don't like that because I have used Yellow Cab but have been able to haggle better rates with other taxis...????

 

[FlameGirl]

It's really hard to say based on the article. It doesn't give enough information for me to form an opinion.

 

[skiingfast]

They do the same at WDW. If you don't like a cabby there it makes it far easier to complain since you don't have to guess at what name the cab had on it while in a strange town.

It also allows for rate controls. In my tourist town the cabbies will rip off every other person they pickup at the airport. There were so many complaints to the tourism board and chamber of commerce that they regulated fares about a year ago and tightend licensing for taxi companies. A lot of the shady ones went out of business when they had to live up to standards.

 

[Disney Dreams]

It is not uncommon at all for a company to have an exclusivity agreement with another company that provides a specific service. For example, if you want a Pepsi while enjoying a visit to the Disneyland Resort, you will not find one. Coke has an exclusivity agreement, as does (apparently) Yellow Cab of Greater Orange County. After you enjoy your Coke, try finding any photographic supplies anywhere within the resort that are not Kodak. They aren't there. There are endless examples of exclusivity agreements in the business world.

- Dreams

 

[pixiewings71]

Honestly I would be OK with it. We used a cab a few times while at DLR, the times we used the chosen company we had great service and great rates, the other time we took a taxi it was terrible. We walked up and headed to the front of the line (as we had done previously), while we walked we looked for the cab driver that had driven us the previous nights we'd used a taxi but didn't see him, some random guy walked up to us and said "where you going?" we said "Peacock Suites" he said "go to him, there" and then yelled at some driver who went to his cab, when we were getting in the guy who put us in the cab said "here take these guys, they are going to LA". The driver got a really excited look on his face and hopped in the car, we tried 5 times to tell we were NOT going to LA but he was on his PHONE and didn't listen to us at all!!!! We ended up finally having to raise our voices to him saying "this is the WRONG WAY, you missed the turn, turn around or we are getting OUT" he said something to his phone person and then said to us "he said you were going to LA" we said "we are NOT going to LA, we are going to the Peacock and now you've taken us 2 blocks past where we needed to turn, you have to turn around or we are getting out now" so he turned around and took us back but then he charged us the full fare, wouldn't give us his name and that ride cost us more then any other ride had that week. And we tipped the other drivers very well but didn't tip him anything! We got the cab company name and called to complain but without the drivers name or the guy who told him we were going to LA's name there was nothing they would do. We didn't take another cab with that company name the rest of that trip. I'd much rather know I'm getting good service and won't be treated that way again.
Of course this can happen with any company, but we simply chose to go with Yellow Cab the rest of the times we took a cab that trip.

 

[ironpig70]

It is not uncommon at all for a company to have an exclusivity agreement with another company that provides a specific service. For example, if you want a Pepsi while enjoying a visit to the Disneyland Resort, you will not find one. Coke has an exclusivity agreement, as does (apparently) Yellow Cab of Greater Orange County. After you enjoy your Coke, try finding any photographic supplies anywhere within the resort that are not Kodak. They aren't there. There are endless examples of exclusivity agreements in the business world.

- Dreams

Don't forget the fries from MCD.

I see this as a good thing. The cab company will have a set rate and maybe an even better rate than before and the cabs will be clean and drivers on the point. Before if they messed up oh well a talking to by management. Now management could lose this contract so they may take calls about service a bit more serious.

 

[Albort]

hmm, Disney should just provide their own cab service... make it nice an simple since Disney seems to be gettin rid of all the sponsorship and such...