Responding to complaints from the local hotel industry, the Town Council is considering increasing the number of taxi licenses issued in Secaucus. However, the move is not sitting well with taxi owners who say added competition from new companies will further drive down profits in a tough economy.
Mayor Dennis Elwell and Town Administrator David Drumeler said they held meetings recently with local hotel managers. The managers, according to Elwell and Drumeler, have complained that their upscale guests are often unimpressed when local cabs show up at the front door. Customers have cited filth and the general age of the local taxi fleets.
In response, the Town Council has drafted an ordinance to approve licenses for two car companies in Secaucus that are currently on a waiting list. One company, Empire CLS, is a national high-end car service that offers late model Lincoln Town cars and limos to customers. Phoenix Limo, the second company on the waiting list, is a more typical taxi service. According to the Town Clerk’s office, Empire has been on the waiting list since last summer. Phoenix has been on the waiting list for about five years.
Currently, 12 cab companies and car services are authorized to operate in Secaucus.
Although taxis, cabs, and car services get their licenses from the state, local towns certify those authorized to operate in their cities. Cab companies can then take that certification to the state’s Motor Vehicle Administration to obtain the hack license.
Elwell and Drumeler believe Empire and Phoenix can cater to hotel customers without cutting into the business of Allied Junction Taxi, J & J Cab, Good Fellas, and other local taxi companies.
A vote on the measure was planned for the Feb. 10 council meeting, but was shelved to allow more time for the governing body to get input from cab owners who have concerns about it.
‘Treating us like cockroaches’
“This is no time to be increasing the number of cars. It’s a matter of supply and demand,” Mohammed Aboushaca, who owns Access and Allied Junction Taxi, said in an interview last week. “Many of the hotels don’t even work with the smaller taxi companies in town because a lot of them have their own shuttles and car services that they use. So, really, there’s actually a lot of supply and little demand.”
Aboushaca, who has been in business in Secaucus for 19 years, said most of his customers are local residents who don’t have cars and need to travel to other nearby towns. Business, he said, is down 30 percent from where it was last year. Between Access and Allied Junction, he owns a fleet of 13 cars.
General managers at Embassy Suites on Plaza Drive and Hyatt Place on Park Plaza Drive confirmed last week that many of their clients use car services when traveling to and from Secaucus, and neither had heard complaints from those who used local cabs.
Frank Gregorio, owner of Good Fellas, agreed with Aboushaca.
“If you talk to most companies, they’re cutting back,” Gregorio said. “They’re cutting drivers, they’re cutting hours. This is really bad timing. I can’t see how adding more cab companies to the town is going to benefit anybody.”
Aboushaca acknowledged that Empire, which has a 400-car fleet, won’t interfere with his operations since car services usually have long-term contracts with business customers. He is less sure about Phoenix.
“Before they go and increase the cab companies here, there has to be a legitimate reason,” he said. “Just because somebody is on a waiting list, this is not a good reason. A good reason would be if there were more customers.”
“No one, not Elwell, not anyone else, told us they were doing this,” he added. “They’re just treating us like cockroaches.”
Livery services ‘an issue’
Such tensions between homegrown “mom and pop” businesses and those that meet the needs of tony tourists are likely to increase. The Meadowlands region has added at least five new hotels over the last two years, adding between 1,000 and 1,500 hotel rooms to the market, according to the Meadowlands Liberty Convention and Visitors Bureau (MLCVB).
“The overall quality of livery service in the area is an issue, and we’ve actually discussed it,” said Jim Kirkos, CEO of the MLCVB. “At the MLCVB, we see everything as a regional experience. If a customer comes here and has a good experience, it weighs heavily on their decision to come back. And that means everything from the time you get into a taxi or car service at the airport, to your experience with the front desk staff when you check in at your hotel.”
Aboushaca bristled at the suggestion that the locals can’t accommodate the sharp suit crowd. He said he recently purchased two new cars for his fleet.
Drumeler said he hopes to work out a compromise resolution that the taxi owners can accept. The Town Council will likely revisit the licensing issue within the next month.
E. Assata Wright may be reached at awright@hudsonreporter.com.