Taxi drivers say they're getting the short end of the parking spots and are being pushed out of established waiting places in Charlottesville. And it's all thanks to the city's effort to make way for more types of transportation.
Cab drivers say they have to fight for parking spaces in town now. Two hour parking signs now line their former cab stand on west Main Street near the Greyhound station. They say they're lucky if two cabs can find a space there.
Melvin Carter has been driving for Carter's Taxi for seven years. He says he never knows if he'll be able to secure a spot in front of the Greyhound station.
The spots that used to be reserved for cabs are now open to anyone. The city did this to make way for a new bike lane and says it talked to Greyhound about it.
Charlottesville City Spokesperson Ric Barrick said, "They didn't seem to think, at least at the time, it was something they really wanted to hold on to."
Carter says drivers had no say, and it's affecting his business. The cab rule of first in first out, is out the door.
Carter stated, "If the first out is up there, and you have someone back here and someone want to go somewhere, that might be disregarded because no one is going to send someone up there."
Charlottesville city spokesperson Ric Barrick said, "We're hoping to reach a compromise with the folks driving the taxis to make sure they do have some available space."
Right now some of the cab drivers have to park across the street to wait for a spot. As soon as one opens, it's a race to get it.
Cab drivers say they would like to have all of the spots back. They say this time of year is busy for them, with plenty of tourists in town, and it's only going to get busier when students return to grounds.
