New rules intended to protect taxi customers from price gouging at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park don’t seem to be satisfying some passengers or drivers.
The city adopted an updated ordinance in December to guard against rogue drivers who were operating without taxi licenses and charging exorbitant rates for the short rides from the concert venue, which draws thousands of visitors from across the Midwest every year, back to nearby hotels and train stations.
While officials and licensed cabdrivers agree there appear to be fewer unmarked cars acting as cabs at the theater, price gouging still persists, police records show. Meanwhile, drivers say the cost of licensing under the new ordinance and new traffic problems at the theater are dissuading them from working the concerts, which in turn is leaving concertgoers with no way to get back home.
“They tried to fix it. But they just made it 50 times harder on us,” said Terry O’Brien, owner of O’Brien’s Taxi Service.
“We vowed never to go back to Tinley Park. It was just a nightmare,” said Steve Yoggerst, an Arlington Heights man who said he was stranded at the theater with his wife for nearly two hours because they couldn’t find a cab.
Since June 1, five tickets and two warnings were issued to drivers for violating the new taxi ordinance at the amphitheater, Tinley Park police said. Four tickets were issued to drivers charging more than the allowed rate, and one was given to a driver who was working without the required village license.
The Tribune last year detailed how some rogue taxi drivers were charging concertgoers $40 or more for short trips to and from the concert venue. The practice was legal at the time because there were no regulated rates to enforce. Reacting to complaints from patrons, village officials updated their ordinance to set rates in the village at $2 for pick up and the first mile and 20 cents for each
additional 1/10 of a mile.
A recent letter to the editor in a local newspaper written by Yoggerst’s wife, Janet Wilson, detailed the couple’s transportation nightmare after a July 30 concert. The complaint got the attention of village officials and prompted police to make a greater effort to enforce the new ordinance, officials said.
The letter detailed how one cabdriver overcharged her and her husband by quoting them a flat rate and not using the meter. The same driver asked what they would pay for a ride back to the hotel after the concert and drove off when they offered $20, the amount they paid for a trip to the theater, Wilson said.
Tinley Park police tracked down the driver and issued him a ticket for overcharging and refusing to pick up a fare, Assistant Village Manager Mike Mertens said.
Five Star Taxi & Shuttle owner Frank Odeh, who employs the driver, said he plans to contest the ticket. He said it is unfair for police to issue a ticket to his driver because authorities were not there to witness what happened.
Wilson, who has a broken leg and is using a wheelchair, said it took them about two hours after the concert to find a cab to take them to their hotel.
“There were probably about 50 of us sitting there … where the taxis were supposed to come and get us,” she said. “We were all waiting for taxis that never showed up.”
Since the new ordinance was adopted, police Cmdr. Steve Vaccaro said the village has received fewer complaints about price gouging. “We’re getting a good response from those who are using the taxis,” he said.
Calls to the management of First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre were not returned.
After Wilson’s letter, Vaccaro said officers working at the theater were instructed to more strictly enforce the taxi ordinance.
Wilson’s complaints also prompted the village to distribute fliers to area hotels and train stations detailing how cabdrivers should calculate a bill, Mertens said. It lists the companies that are licensed to operate in town and warns patrons that drivers are not allowed to negotiate rates.
Letters were also mailed to all registered taxi companies explaining that no more warnings will be issued, only tickets, for those violating the ordinance.
“Hopefully, we can scare away the few people who are not following the rules,” Mertens said.
He added that it is difficult for police to follow up on misbehaving drivers if they aren’t reported to the village.
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In addition to the new ordinance, the village also adopted a new route for cabs to enter the theater to allow better access to customers, Mertens said.
The changes haven’t been well received by the drivers. Mertens said concertgoers waiting for rides out of the theater are not getting picked up because cabdrivers complain they get stuck in traffic when they use the new designated route.
“The biggest issue we’ve had to date with the theater is just, quite frankly, getting taxis to come back into the facility,” Mertens said.
Traffic around the 28,000-seat amphitheater after a show snarls roadways in nearly every direction. Cabdrivers say the route takes them out of their way to get into the theater, and then gets them stuck in traffic on the way out.
Last year, there was no designated pick-up area for patrons needing a cab and little oversight of cabdrivers working the theater, Mertens said.
O’Brien said the new route to the theater only complicates things for the drivers and requires them to drive at least 10 minutes out of their way. And there’s always a mob of customers waiting and fighting over the few cabs, he said.
“No one wants to work it anymore,” he said. “It’s becoming like a war zone. My car has been getting beat up left and right.”
O’Brien said he doesn’t plan to pick up anyone after concerts anymore. By the time he pays for the licenses to work in Tinley Park plus pays for the damage to his car, O’Brien said he hasn’t made any money working at the theater this year.
Under the new ordinance, taxi drivers must pay for a background check for themselves and an inspection for their vehicles. A taxicab business license costs $150, plus $50 for every licensed driver and $50 for every vehicle license. Mileage rates and a contact number for complaints must be posted in the cabs.
Odeh said he has stopped working during concerts and has had a hard time getting his drivers to work them because the traffic isn’t worth the hassle.
With thousands of concertgoers trying to exit the theater at once, it’s difficult to reserve a road for taxis, Mertens said. He said the village will study ways to make improvements for next year after the concert season ends Saturday.
“We’ll look at what worked, what didn’t work and see if we can make changes,” he said.