Letter to the Editor: City or county should license taxi services

By Dave Scrimger, Charles City

The city or county ought to take a good look at licensing of taxi services. Historically the cities controlled the number of taxis so the market would not be overgrown with cabs.  Furthermore there were city licenses issued per cab and insurance policies were to be on file at city hall.

Drivers had to have background checks and were photographed and fingerprinted and special ID cards were issued and hung inside the car. This licensing is done in many larger cities yet.

Some companies just get a public utilities permit from the state. Is this sufficient? With the recent news about some phony drivers in some other areas, there should be some more taxi security measures for all towns. The public should be aware of who is their driver.

It has also come to my attention that there is no bus service to Mason City anymore from Charles City. That might also be a hardship for those that have business there. Just some more things to think about.