Photos by Chris Richards / Staff Shannon Spradling, a taxi driver for seven years, says unlicensed drivers hurt his business.

A flood of "gypsy" cabs has surfaced on Tucson's streets during the Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase.

The drivers are luring potential customers away from licensed and insured contractors and companies by selling services at rock-bottom rates, legitimate drivers and company managers say.

"They're just coming out of the woodwork," said longtime cab driver Nan Harris. "A lot of us are upset."

Hand-made paper signs taped on private automobile doors have trumpeted, "Gem Show Rides: $5 Anywhere." A cardboard sign on one car read: "Gem Show Taxi." Another magnetic sign simply advertised: "Taxi."

"We send drivers to hotels near the gem show, and they get there and the customer is gone," said Robin Ramstack, dispatch supervisor at Allstate Cab Co. She estimated the company loses up to 25 percent of its showcase business to the gypsy drivers.

Some gypsies run a meter but don't have the yellow and black taxi license decal in the rear window that indicates when the device was last tested for accuracy. Others carry a top light illuminating "taxi" on the roof of the car, but don't have the commercial taxi license plates issued by the state Motor Vehicle Division, which in most cases have a "3Z" or "4Z" prefix.

"It's hurting our business terribly," said Javier Garcia, owner of Classic Cab & VIP Sedan Service. "It's hard for honest businesses to compete."

Legitimate taxi drivers - estimated at about 500 in Tucson - already had weathered a long dry run for business as the travel industry recovered from the Sept. 11 attacks. That, after a typically dead summer for business.

Taxi insurance rates have nearly doubled since September, adding to the cost of running a legitimate business, say company owners and managers.

Before the gem show, taxi contractor Harris said, she actually lost money driving a cab here on some nights, after paying a company $50 to $80 to lease the cab for 12 hours. She couldn't pay rent and had to move in with her mother, she said.

Many companies depend on the annual gem show business to boost their coffers for slower times of the year.

This year, independent operator Shannon Spradling said he's working 16 to 18 hours a day to bank the money for tougher times. But Spradling, a legitimate driver, notes, "I've got to compete with someone with a piece of paper that says he's a taxi driver."

Licensed and insured cab companies and independent contractors allege customers are taking a safety risk when they use gypsy cab services.

A city ordinance requires taxis to display the prices for fares, use two-way radios and install meters in working order. Tucson police and the city's traffic enforcement agents are authorized to issue citations. Neither the city's Police Department nor the Department of Transportation has agents assigned specifically to look for illegal cab drivers. But both agencies do investigate the tips called in, officials said.

In January, the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures cracked down on illegal taxis by requiring Arizona cab companies to display a new taxi license decal on each vehicle's rear window. Taxi inspections consist of testing the accuracy of both the taximeter and odometer to verify the price posting.

"The reason we did it was there were so many gypsy cabs throughout the state," said Dee Ann Deaton, public information officer with the state department. "Now we have a way to catch gypsy and renegade taxi services."

* Contact Jeannine Relly at
573-4213 or by e-mail at jrelly@azstarnet.com.