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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 26, 1960)
0 8 B. MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, ORB. BUNDAT, JUNl 11. 1160 City's Limousine Problem May Be Setteled on July 7 By GREG NOKES Mail Tribune Staff Writer The city of Medford's cur rent taxi cab and limousine controversy which seems to grow more and more complex each day, all started last win ter when the Yellow Cab com pany raised its rates during the nights of heavy fog. Although the raising of rates by Yellow Cab has lit tle, if anything, to do with what has since transpired, it was the first of the current series of problems which has plagued Medford's city coun cil for the past six months. Before the controversy will finally be resolved it appears that portions of the Medford city code will be rewritten and more stringent regula tions on limousine service at the airport enforced. When the Yellow Cab com pany raised its rates on a couple of foggy nights last winter, the city received a number of complaints from irate customers. The owner of the taxi company, Carl Kel lenberger, was informed by the city that under terms of his taxi cab license he could not raise rates without ap proval of the city council. Defended Actions Keilenberger defended his actions that his drivers could not make any profit during foggy nights because the driv ing was so slow. He requested the city council to empower the mayor or city manager to give him special permission to temporarily raise his rates during periods of bad weather Both the mayor and city manager said they did not want to have the responsibili ty of determining when and If weather conditions Justi fied a raise In rates, and the council postponed action on the request indefinitely. Before this matter could be shoved aside, however, the council received two separate requests for taxi cab licenses. One of the requests was from Clarence F. and Mary Jane Jones who requested that they be granted a license to operate a limousine serv ice between downtown Mcd ford and the airport. This company is called the Mcd ford Airport Limousine serv ice. The other request was from W. H. Hill who wanted a li cense to operate a second taxi cab company in the city to be known as the Courtesy Cab company. Protested License Yellow Cab company, which Is approximately 1)0 years old in Medford and had been the only cab company here for a number of years, vigorously protested the grant ing of both licenses. Representatives of the com pany contended that the city could not adequately support a second cab company, and presented figures which they said would prove it. They also said that Yellow Cab was adequately serving the air port with cabs, and if a lim ousine service was desired they already had one which they could use. But the city council did not feel that it was its re sponsibility to determine whe ther or not enough business existed to justify additional cab companies, and based its action on other considerations. Several city councilmen ex pressed their opinions that competition in Medford's taxi cab business might be good for the people. On Feb. 4, li censes were approved for both companies. License Granted Owners of the limousine service had said they wanted only to operate between down town hotels and motels and the airport, and the council granted them a license with the understanding that these routes would be the only ones used by the company. However, the city has no such thing as a limousine li cense and the limousine serv ice was granted a taxi cab li cense, coming under the city's regulations for taxi cabs. A taxi cab license contains no restrictions on routes to be used by a company, and there was nothing in the license to bind the limousine service to the routes which it had said it would use. Shortly after the new com pany started operating, It de parted from its originally in- CASH DAVIS PHARMACY 135 West Main, Medford MR. and MRS. DAVIS Say "Thank You and Goodbye!" WEST MAIN PHARMACY 135 West Main, Medford DICK and BONNIE GLASS Say "Hello! We extend to you a Cordial Welcomel" tended routes and started transporting passengers into residential districts. Yellow Cab company then filed a complaint with the city that transporting passengers into residential districts was in violation of the council's intent at the time the license was granted. Numerous Complaints The city was also receiving numerous complaints from persons who said the two com panies were going overboard in their competition for pas sengers at the airport. One elderly lady told city officials that two drivers al most had a fight over her while trying to get her to ride in their respective lim ousines. The city council then called representatives of both t h e cab companies before it, in an attempt to clarify the rights of the Medford Airport Limousine service and to straighten out the situation at the airport. An attorney for the limou sine service admitted to the council that the company was transporting passengers into residential districts, but said it was necessary in order to meet competition. He explained that when the limousine service had applied for a license there was no other limousine serving the airport, just cabs. But, after the limousine service started operating, he said, then Yel low Cab company also started running its limousine to the airport. No Restrictions He pointed out that there were no restrictions on t h e Yellow Cab limousine so it was able to take passengers anywhere. In order to meet this competition, the limou sine service had to adjust its routes accordingly. The council took no action on the matter at that meeting and postponed it until the next meeting pending further study. At its June 16 meeting the council again took up the mat ter of the limousine service routes. Ben Day, an attorney for the service, requested that the council allow the service to operate anywhere within a three-mile radius of Med ford with one terminus al ways at the airport. He also requested a rate hike for areas other than the down town area. ' Wanted Approval Day pointed out to the coun cil that even though it might not have any control over the service's routes, the service wanted approval of the coun cil before departing any fur ther from the originally in tended routes. Councilman R. L. Van Sick le apparently reflected the sentiments of most members of the council when he said that to deny the request would be the same as revoking the license. If the council denied the request, he said, it would be the same as trying to en force controls over the serv ice's routes which the council does not have under the taxi cab license. Both the revised routes and 1 rates received council approv al. But the council stipulated that they would be effective only until the entire matter of limousines is again consid ered July 7. No representative from the Yellow Cab company was at the meeting to protest the ac tion. Proposed Addition When the council meets again July 7 it will have be fore it a proposed addition to the city code which the city administration hopes will solve the entire issue. In ef fect it Is the taxi cab ordi nance simply rewritten to suit limousines. If adopted, the addition to the code would define limou sines as, "a motor vehicle for hire, used to transport pas sengers over public ways by way of specified routes to and from the Medford Municipal airport." The definition of a taxi cab has been and will continue to be, "a motor vehicle for hire, used for transportation of passengers within the city, and not operated exclusively over a fixed route." Another Provision Another provision In the proposed addition to the code is that limousine operators must file a schedule of routes as well as rates, with the city and then stick to these routes unless a change is authorized by the council. The most important new regulation - and it is not real ly new - will be the enforce ment of a provision whereby operators of limousine com panies must obtain a permit from the airport manager be fore they can serve the air port. This is in addition to its regular operating license from the city council. This regulation is found un der the portion of the city code regarding the municipal airport. It reads: "No person shall use the airport as a base or terminal for the carrying on of commercial aviation, or the carrying of pasengers . . . without a permit from the air port manager, and the pay ment of the fees and charges prescribed for these privi leges." Previous Application This provision has previous ly applied only to aircraft and similar uses, but City At torney Joel Reedcr is of the opinion that it is sufficiently broad enough to cover ground commercial traffic as well. It will be enforced as of July 1, and should not require any council action. Operators of taxi cab com panies and the limousine serv ice are now paying $250 a year for an operator's license and $75 a year for each ve hicle licensed with the city. The city administration is recommending that the same $250 operator's fee and $75 vehicle fee be charged limou sine operators under the new addition to the city code. This would mean that the Yellow Cab company would have to purchase a $250 limousine op erator s license in aamuon io its $250 taxi cab operator's license. Operates Cab Because there has been no provision for limousines, Yel low Cab company's limousine . A H k NO INSTALLATION COSTI Install Mobilaire without tools . . , even move it room-to-rooml FULL 2 H P. -Rum on 1 IS voltt. UP TO 60 POUNDS LIGHTER ... far smaller, too. BIG UNIT VERSATILITY! Cooli, d.humidifiei, filters, circulates. At PLUS . . . Pleasantly quid. Adjustable grilles. Adjustable Thermostat. tyi!...'.rrAkstinhousc SUMMER LIVING Can Be COMFORTABLE LIVING With NEW WESTINGHOUSE lYiOBILAIRE CONDITIONER Mi SM Mobilltl into trim TROWBRIDGE & FLYNN BIG Y APPLIANCE CENTER 214 West Main St. Ph. SP 3-6241 Phone SP 3-3052 Annual Trappers' Rendezvous Set In Area July 22 The fourth annual Trap pers' rendezvous, sponsored by the Oregon Historical So ciety, will be held in Jackson county July 22 to 25, the So ciety has announced. Members of the Southern Oregon Historical Society and the Siskiyou Pioneer Sites Foundation also will partici pate in the annual event. The group will assemble at Hawthorne park, Medford, Friday evening, July 22. A miner's breakfast in Jackson ville has been scheduled Sat urday at 7 a.m. Tours in Jacksonville, in cluding the Beekman bank, have been arranged for the rendezvous as well as seeing fort sites, cemeteries, historic buildings, a gold mine, and other attractions of southern Oregon. Jack Sutton, Grants Pass, will serve as guide for the session. Guests of Honor Medford Mayor John Sni der will be guest of honor at Society picnic at McKee bridge on the Applegate at noon. Swimming is slated for various places along the way before dinner Saturday eve ning at Southern Oregon col lege, Ashland. Dr. Arthur Tay lor, Oregon historian and SOC faculty member, is in charge. Cards and square dancing has been planned. At 7 a.m. Sunday guided tours have been arranged for Crater lake, Oregon caves, or the Lava beds. Further sight seeing is available for those extending their trip until Monday, according to the society. Members of the OHS, their guests and affiliated society members have been invited to attend the rendezvous. Reservations for the event should be made by July 15, the Society added. A registra tion fee of $1 is to cover all incidental expenses, includ ing refreshments, tours, and entertainment. Local Student Named To College Honor Roll Portland - Melva Gebhard, 1519 North Riverside ave., Medford, has been named to the spring honor roll of 83 students at Lewis and Clark college. Requirements are a minimum studv load of is hours and a grade average of 3.50 or better. Melva. daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Gebhard, is a sen ior majoring in history. Two new drivers of sports cars suffered chest pains be cause their muscles were not accustomed to shifting gears and steering without power assistance. Dr. Strauss said that foot room limitations may compel drivers to sit In positions that will cause hip and back pains. Ft. Lewis Man Said In Good Condition Lester Delbert Schall, 22, a Ft. Lewis, Wash., soldier who was Injured in an acci dent while fleeing from Cen tral Point police Thursday morning, is reported in good condition at Sacred Heart hospital. Schall, who has admitted to and is charged with bur glarizing the Courtesy Chev rolet company and taking a car, also admitted stealing a second car in Medford. He is 10 days AWOL from Ft. Lewis, according to Medford police. Schall told police he took a car from the Parsons Mo tor company, 315 East Fifth St., Wednesday morning, and drove it as far as Canyon ville where it broke down. He said he then abandoned the car, and took a bus back to Medford. &ue yj..--cated the car down the side of a bank next to the road Thursday. King Edward VII, who died in 1910, spent at least three months abroad every year bs sides continual travel in Brit- lin. if$ FROZEN FOOD LOCKER ' Time Again Single, Double and Triple lockers Available Week Days 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. Sundays 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. Campers and Fishermen, Get Your Dry Ice Here Bulk Zero Storage Available Fruit and Vegetable Growers, Arrange for Cold Storage Now From a Ton to a Trainload Wilson McCabe Refrigerating Co. 301 North Fir, Corner 4th Ph. SP 3-3300 WE WILL CLOSE SUNDAY at 5:00 P.M. AND OPEN MONDAY AT 1:00 P.M. FOR INVENTORY had been operating under a taxi cab license and an addi tional fee has not been neces sary. The fee to be chareed for a Dermit to sprvp thp nirnnrt will probably be a nominal one. us purpose would be con trol, not revenue. Both taxi cab operator and vehicle licenses expire June 30, so that both the Yellow Cab comnanv'fl limnnsina an the Medford Airport Limou sine service, would come un der the new limousine provi sion in the city code. The city administration hopes that the new provision to the city code, if it passes the council next mnnlh will end the limousine problems. I IXHjtmmt t U f 1r , -j.fryll SP 3-7474 zi iiua itfl-JO Li( I I SALE! If ELECTRIC ROTARY MOWER Lightweight 24-lbs. k Eaiy to Use and Store, -ft- Starts at Snap of Switch Reg. 89.50 59 MODEL RE-182 FIVE-YEAR SERVICE REPLACEMENT GUARANTEE! $1.19 SUMMER DELITE CANDY C7C Rv Whitman w m SI. 95 2 BUSHEL BAMBOO BASKET BASEBALL GLOVES Reg. Sixes Top Quality Leathers Fielder's Giove, 5.97 Catcher's Glove, 6.99 First B Glove 3 CU. FT. 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