Higher rates, rooftop advertising coming to Myrtle Beach cabs

Myrtle Beach taxicab owners won a small victory in the struggle against Uber on Tuesday: a $2 rate hike and the ability to display advertising on their vehicles’ roofs.

Local cab companies say they are struggling with competition from Uber, which entered the Myrtle Beach market two years ago. Joshua Rauzi, a general manager for Diamond Cab, said ridesharing services have lured many of his former drivers and are “flooding the market” for rides. He said his business has fallen as much as 60 percent.

“I can guarantee the way it’s going right now the cab companies will be out of business within a year to two years,” Rauzi told The Sun News on Tuesday before Myrtle Beach City Council approved the ads and rate increases.

The ads are a new source of revenue for local cab companies. Other components of the new ordinance are designed to help curb costs for cab companies. The minimum fare will rise from $1.50 to $3.50. A five-mile trip will cost roughly $18.35. Renewal fees for taxi operation, which involves a yearly inspection of the vehicles, will also fall from $300 to $100.

In the council’s morning workshop Tuesday, representatives of the taxi industry showed an example of what a sign would look like and urged the change.

“I like the look of the sign, because it’s not tacky looking. It’s clean,” Mayor John Rhodes said.

The signs are triangular in shape and oblong, similar to advertising on top of taxis in New York City. The very front and back of the signs, which are small triangles, are plain white -- unless they are lit with a button inside the cab. Then, the ends light up in red, saying, “Help call 911.” The 911 signals could be pushed in an emergency by a cab’s driver.

Though the design for the sign passed muster at the council, the city has an existing ordinance banning mobile advertisements for those who do not hold taxi medallions. The taxi ordinance will only allow advertising for a year, to ensure cab drivers continue to work with the city if a problem is identified.

“Council’s traditional reluctance here is to make sure that this is not the opposite of family friendly,” City Manager John Pedersen said during the workshop. “The way that we have chosen to get at that concern in this ordinance is to recommend that the advertising part of that be approved for one year.”

Rauzi said he was not sure how much the new ad space will cost for clients. However, representatives at the meeting said they would sell ads for at least six months at a time, as the signs have to be re-installed every time the advertising changes.

“It may not be a lot to begin with, but it would be enough to push us through the off season,” Rauzi said.

This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 4:06 PM with the headline "Higher rates, rooftop advertising coming to Myrtle Beach cabs."