A draft of the proposed amendments to the Taxicab Medallion License Holder Rules and Regulations has been released, and the city is asking for comments from the public about it, particularly the ones who will be the most affected. Chicago cab drivers have since been going through the amendments line per line, in hopes of finding something to contribute in a set of guidelines that could not only affect them, but the future of the industry as well.

Comments are to be emailed to the City of Chicago through [email protected] with the subject line “Comments on Proposed Amendments to the TX Rules”. The deadline for submissions has been set to April 10.

The taxi industry has been experiencing a number of changes in the past couple of years, especially with the birth of its biggest rival, the rideshare industry. Cab drivers have been feeling the amount of competition that services like Uber and Lyft are bringing, considering the kind of convenience that these services offer.

The initial pull of Uber is their app, which allows smartphone users to quickly book a ride. Although different cab companies such as Universal Taxi also offer the same service, it still isn’t enough to completely take their majority share away from the newcomers.

Some of the proposed changes involve the following:

• Training for taxicab medallion licensees can now be taken online.
• An authorized attorney may now transact with the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection on behalf of a cab company.
• Financial reporting requirements have been taken out of the guidelines.
• Several guidelines in the retirement and replacement of vehicles due to age were taken out.
• The documents required for processing a Change of Equipment is now easier, requiring only the completed form and payment of fees.
• New safety stickers will be affixed inside the taxi’s passenger doors.
• New improvements in the available information for visually-impaired passengers.

For a complete copy of the proposed changes, the draft can be accessed through http://chicagodispatcher.com/clients/chicagodispatcher/ProposedMedallionRules.pdf.

For a copy of the current guidelines, here is the link: http://www.cityofchicago.org/dam/city/depts/bacp/publicvehicleinfo/medallionowners/medallionlicenseholderrulesregsf20120626.pdf.

Knowing that there are only a few days left before submission, cab drivers and associations have been going through the proposed changes with a fine-tooth comb to see if there are unreasonable guidelines. Chicago cabbies have become even more vigilant about the industry, especially because of what they believe as a lack of action from the City Council when it comes to their battle against rideshare services.

The City Council has recently approved the rideshare ordinance, making the competition a little better and easier for cab companies like Universal Taxi. However, cabbies still believe that what they have done are not enough. Rideshare services are still self-regulated, something that bothers Chicago cabbies as completely unsafe.

Cabbies may be sending their message across though, considering that there has been an increase in the complaints of sexual assault against Uber drivers. This has increased awareness about the advantages of using a taxi over rideshare services, although further regulation still needs to be put in place to ensure the public’s safety even further.