East Lansing continues to struggle with an overload of available taxi services operating in the city, and local taxi drivers are starting to speak out.
At the East Lansing City Council meeting Tuesday night, cab drivers from the East Lansing cab company Shaggin' Wagon Taxi spoke out about the current cab situation, citing too many licensed cab drivers in the city taking away business from them.
James Benington, a longtime cab driver, told council members he was concerned not only for his business, but also for the safety of other drivers on the road and customers riding in unlicensed cabs.
East Lansing City Clerk Marie Wicks previously told The State News there are more than 190 licensed taxis with permits in the city.
On top of that, there are plenty of other taxi services available that aren't licensed and are just started up by people who want to make some extra money, Benington said.
The cab drivers find loopholes in the system and treat it as if they were giving any random friend a ride, which helps them avoid legal trouble if pulled over.
The current penalty for getting pulled over for operating a taxi service is a potential $500 ticket, according to Wicks.
East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett said at the meeting the city currently is working to find a more permanent solution to the influx of cabs in the city and said the issue would come up before council at a later date.
The city council meeting also elected to move the decision on the application from the Trowbridge Road Village, LLC, where they are looking for an approval of SDM/SDD license for the grocery store on site and an upgrade from the existing Tavern license to a Class C liquor license at Hobie's Restaurant.
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