A Word on Fairness, Safety, and Taxi Competition in St. Augustine
Archive Note — 2026: This post was written in April 2016 during a period of considerable change in St. Augustine’s transportation business. Local taxi companies were competing with one another while rideshare services were rapidly changing the industry. Regulations and circumstances have changed since then. I’ve lightly edited the original while preserving my argument at the time: competition is healthy, but rules should be applied fairly.
I received a letter asking for my views on taxi service in St. Augustine. At the time, one local company was raising questions about the vehicles and practices of some of its competitors.
At Abraxi Taxi, we were proud to operate some of the newest, lowest-mileage cabs in the Ancient City.
But here’s the thing:
Newer doesn’t automatically mean safer, and older doesn’t automatically mean unsafe.
If another company operated an older vehicle with more miles and that vehicle still met the city’s safety requirements, I didn’t see the problem.
If a vehicle was unsafe, enforce the rules and get it off the road.
Fairly. Consistently. Regardless of whose name was painted on the door.
Are We Really Talking About Safety?
If we’re truly concerned about health, safety and welfare, then let’s have that discussion honestly.
St. Augustine has always had an unusual mixture of transportation: taxis, pedicabs, sightseeing vehicles, golf carts and, increasingly at the time, app-based rideshare services.
Each presents different questions about safety and regulation.
My point wasn’t that one company should be protected from another. Quite the opposite.
There was room for competition.
Some taxi companies charged more. Others charged less. Some had newer cars. Others kept older vehicles on the road longer.
Let the customer choose.
But whatever pricing system a company used—meters, zones or another approved method—I believed customers deserved integrity, consistency and transparency.
Abraxi Taxi used zone rates.
We didn’t believe traffic at 2 a.m. should magically make the same trip more expensive than it was at 2 p.m.
That was our way of doing business.
Then Came Rideshare
There was another issue changing the transportation business in 2016: Uber and other rideshare companies.
Traditional taxi operators were required to comply with a collection of local rules governing vehicles for hire. At the time, taxi operators throughout Florida were arguing that rideshare companies were competing for many of the same passengers without operating under identical regulatory requirements.
From behind the wheel of a small independent taxi company, that didn’t look like a level playing field.
There were also legitimate discussions about passenger safety.
In April 2016, local news reported allegations from a St. Augustine-area passenger involving an Uber driver. The incident was being investigated by law enforcement and Uber at the time.
One allegation did not make every rideshare driver dangerous.
But it certainly reinforced my larger point:
If safety is the justification for regulation, then safety standards should matter regardless of the logo on the vehicle.
If Safety Is the Priority, Apply It Fairly
If a taxi doesn’t meet established safety standards, take it off the road.
If another type of passenger vehicle presents a legitimate safety problem, address that too.
Don’t use regulation as a weapon against the competitor you happen not to like.
And don’t ignore another operator simply because its technology or business model is new.
Same street. Same passengers. Fair rules.
The Bigger Picture
Running a cab company isn’t easy.
Taxis accumulate mileage quickly. Passengers can be messy. Cars break. Accidents happen. Insurance isn’t cheap.
Yet every day, small transportation companies try to put clean, safe and reliable vehicles on the road.
Competition should make us better.
If another taxi company gives better service, has a cleaner car or charges a price customers prefer, then we need to improve.
That’s business.
What I objected to was using regulation selectively—whether to protect an established company from a smaller competitor or to give a new business model advantages unavailable to everyone else.
A taxi ride is basic transportation for a lot of working people. Regulations that unnecessarily drive up operating costs eventually reach the passenger.
People should be able to choose the transportation company that fits their needs.
Cheap car. Fancy car. Taxi. Rideshare.
Let them compete.
But establish the rules and enforce them fairly.
Because in the end, the age of the vehicle isn’t the most important issue.
Safety matters. Fairness matters. And competition works best when everybody knows the rules.
