Government

Taxi cab company files appeal after license revoked

A taxi cab crashed into this parked pickup truck last month. (Credit: Jennifer Gustavson, file)
A taxi cab crashed into this parked pickup truck last month. (Credit: Jennifer Gustavson, file)

After a car crash involving a Day and Night Taxi driver led to the company’s — and driver’s — taxi revocations, the company is appealing the town’s decision.

The Riverhead Town Board has scheduled an Aug. 19 public hearing at 7 p.m. about the appeal filed by Day and Night Taxi and Limo against the town’s recent revocation of its taxicab business license, which had allowed them to operate in town.

The town revoked the permits following a July 13 accident in which one of the company’s cabs crashed into a parked car, resulting in the injury of the cab’s passenger.

The driver in that incident — 23-year-old Charles Williams — didn’t have a license to drive a cab, a violation he had previously been cited for three times. In addition, the town said the company also failed to keep proper cab logs and had false or misleading information on its company license.

The taxi rules adopted by the Town Board mandate that taxi companies operating in the town must be licensed by the town. The regulations also require taxi drivers to submit to drug tests and physicals to prove the drivers are “physically and mentally fit” to drive a cab, according to the town code.

According to the text of the legislation, the rules were passed “to enhance the peace and security of our citizens in their homes and neighborhoods; to safeguard consumers against fraud and inferior services; and to prevent congestion and unsafe conditions on the streets and highways of the Town.”