NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk Airport Authority is searching for a third party to assume control of the airport's taxi management, dispatch and queue system after taking on annual deficits of more than $175,000 to run the on-demand taxi service.
A March email alarmed taxi drivers and owners after NAA Deputy Executive Director Steven Sterling wrote the Authority intends on: "outsourcing the taxi operation at Norfolk International Airport to a single taxi cab company."
At Tuesday's meeting, Sterling said the Authority wants to outsource the management of taxi dispatch operations to a third party, and any decision on the operation of taxis at the airport would come from proposals submitted by outside companies.
"We could get a proposal that is simply providing the dispatch services or a proposal that provides dispatch services and the taxi operation," Sterling said. "We'll just have to wait to see what kind of proposals we get and what the demands of the offers are."
When asked how a third party could run the taxi operation more profitably than the airport, Sterling said that depends on changes that companies introduce in their proposal to the Authority. Sterling and speaker Ray Mundy of Tennessee Transportation and Logistics Foundation said a 'virtual queue' of taxis ready for service and other technology advancements could be the answer.
The fear for taxi drivers and taxi owners is that an outside company could propose cost-saving or revenue-boosting measures such as choosing one exclusive cab company to service the airport and barring smaller cab companies.
The airport is a vital part of the business model for most small cab companies after the rise of Uber and Lyft, with some owners, like Andy's Cabs owner Doug Crain, asserting that 90 percent of his business comes from rides to and from the airport.
“You know if they cut out all of the small companies and use theirs, or if they take over the drivers and switch them to another company - that would be the demise of all small business owners," Crain said.
While waiting in the current queue system, taxi drivers like Lette Taylor said they want the system to stay the same and don't want to see other drivers or companies forced out due to changes or rising costs.
“Without the airport, we have nothing," Taylor said. "This is our home, so if you kick us from our home we have nowhere to go, we have no food and we can’t pay our rent. I hope the airport won't do that."
Frank Azzalina, a spokesman for Black and White Cabs, Yellow Cab, Norfolk Checker and Coastal Ride, said his companies could submit a proposal to run the service if, after a thorough review, they can fulfill the airport's request.
“We understand the airport’s position and hopefully it will be something we’ll be able to bid on," Azzalina said. "They're a business and they cannot operate in the red and we get that as business people ourselves."
Sterling and the Airport Authority emphasized no decision has been made and the organization will wait to review any proposals before moving forward. The airport's request for qualifications and proposals will be sent out in the next month or two, according to Sterling.
However, the worry for owners like Crain and drivers like Taylor is that they don't know what's coming and how it will affect their business in the future.
“I guess in the next couple of months we’ll find out, but right now I don’t have a clue," Crain said.