The City Council’s License Committee voted Monday to recommend that a limousine license petition be approved Thursday night at the City Council meeting.
At-large Councilor John J. Beltrandi III, chairman of the License Committee, said the petition, submitted by the owner of the City Cab Company, Zane Venn, received a 2-0 vote for a positive recommendation to the full council.
Venn, who appeared at the April 19 City Council session, said that he was recently informed by his insurance company that he would require a limousine license instead of a cab license to operate a 2003, 15 passenger, handicapped equipped bus after purchasing the vehicle last summer.
“They told me to cease and desist, that I couldn’t put a (taxi) meter in it and that I needed a limo license,” he said.
Venn said that while his taxi business has dwindled from seven or eight cabs down to two cars, but that his bus has generated considerable business for the company.
“We have not gone up on our (taxi) rates for 20 years and are still well below the national rates,” Venn said. “Fuel and insurance costs continue to rise.”
“I charge $5 per person for the bus to take them any place in town, and for active military people there is not charge because they do so much for us,” Venn said. “We’re not making a huge profit, but the bus has saved the business.”
Venn said that much of his bus business is transporting Westfield State University students to various commercial venues in the city, then back to the campus.
Beltrandi said the License Committee also initiated discussion of a revision to the city’s taxi and livery ordinance.
Beltrandi said that he requested Shanna Reed of the Law Department to review a proposed ordinance submitted by Sergeant Brian Boldini (retired), supervisor of the Police Department Traffic and Safety Bureau, to the council.
“We feel that we need better oversight from a safety perspective, annual inspections, maintenance records, medical cards of drivers on record, that is not in the present ordinance, something that is clear and precise so the cab and livery owners know what is expected of their businesses,” Beltrandi said.
“We want to start working on it, get the discussion going,” he said. “There is a lot of language not in our existing ordinance.”
