Bill York of Gorham, once a truck driver, is back on the road these days, this time as a taxi owner. But in a business governed by municipally set rates that are not keeping pace with soaring expenses, it’s a rough ride for cabbies.

“Gas prices are raising havoc,” said York, 43, owner of Gorham Taxi & Livery Inc., in a cell call after dropping off a Buxton customer at the Portland International Jetport.

York is based in Gorham, which doesn’t regulate taxi fares. But both Westbrook and Portland set the taxi rates for fares that begin and end within their borders. The mandated taxi rates in both cities are $1.90 for the first 10th of a mile with 25 cents for each additional 10th of a mile. The fees are displayed on cab doors and the state calibrates and seals the taxi meters.

“I can’t go above the rate,” said York, who was licensed last month in Westbrook. “We can’t survive on current rates. It’s tough on everybody.”

While York and other taxis in Westbrook and Portland can’t increase fares to cover rising costs, the price of regular gas keeps climbing. According to AAA, gas is now just above $4 a gallon in Maine, up from $3.62 a month ago and $3.10 a year ago.

Besides escalating gas prices and costs of maintenance, insurance is a big-ticket item for taxis. York said he pays $6,000 yearly for coverage.

York, who has no other drivers, expanded his territory from Gorham into Westbrook “to generate more business and establish a bigger customer base,” he said. He will be competing with one other licensed cab company in the city, Westbrook Taxi, whose owner, Norma Bridges, said most of her fares in Westbrook are regular customers.

“There’s not much work out here for the drivers I have,” Bridges said recently about operating his three vehicles in Westbrook.

Taxis are hoping for some municipal help.

Tynnia Staples, security coordinator and taxi administrator in Portland, said that city’s Transportation Committee is weighing ordinance and rate increase changes, but taxi companies aren’t in agreement on what those should look like. Portland could implement a new fee to cover wait time, if a cab with a customer, for instance, was stuck in a traffic jam. Other options include raising the $1.90 fee and/or the fee for each additional 10th of a mile.

In Westbrook, City Clerk Lynda Adams said the city’s ordinance, which she described as vague, would be reviewed by the City Council’s Committee of the Whole in July. Adams said regulations have not been updated since 1946. The ordinance is so antiquated that it requires cabbies to wear badges on their hats, she said.

Adams said unlicensed taxis aren’t supposed to pick up fares in Westbrook, but she suspects they are.

“We need to get some teeth in the ordinance so we can buckle down on it,” Adams said.

Adams said a future change would require all taxis operating in Westbrook – including those based outside the city – to have a license. She said the current annual fee for a taxi business license in Westbrook is $100 with a $40 fee for a new taxi driver. A driver renewal fee is $25.

York said a Portland license costs him $440 a year. It allows him to wait for fares anywhere in the city except at the Portland Jetport, where there’s another $600 yearly fee to wait for fares.

Gorham Town Councilor Mike Phinney, chairman of the Ordinance Committee, said recently Gorham doesn’t have an ordinance regulating or licensing taxis.

“Nothing is planned,” Phinney said.

Meanwhile, local cab companies are looking for ways to increase business. Westbrook Taxi offers a 10 percent discount to regular customers. York is offering a 20 percent discount off meter rates between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to Gorham and Westbrook customers whose rides are within the confines of those communities.

“I hope that will jumpstart business,” York said.

But York doesn’t label discounts a taxi price war. He said the two companies have referred business to one another during busy times and his discount offer is for during the day.

On Memorial Day, York said, there were 40 taxis waiting at the Portland Jetport in mid-afternoon. Because of tougher competition from other cabs, York isn’t renewing his Portland taxi license, which is in effect until the end of June. But Westbrook Taxi is renewing three cabs in Portland, according to Staples.

York launched Gorham Taxi & Livery, Inc., in July to fill a void he saw in public transportation in town. As a truck driver, York said he was sometimes on the road for three months at a time. Life on the road took its toll.

“I hauled chemicals and hazardous waste,” he said. “It made me old in a hurry.”

York, a 1983 graduate of Gorham High School, has a 2004 Crown Victoria cab, and sometimes uses his personal, four-wheel drive Chevrolet Tahoe. He is based from his home on Libby Avenue and he’s on duty 24 hours a day.

“If the phone rings at 3 or 4 a.m., I go,” said York.

His business venture suffered an early setback. He said a drunk driver in a stolen car on Nov. 30 hit his vehicle head-on in front of Cinemagic in Westbrook. The crash destroyed his cab, but he was thankful he didn’t have a fare aboard.

York hit his head, was knocked unconscious and hospitalized. “I had bruises, aches and pains,” he said, though he didn’t suffer any broken bones.

Not waiting for insurance to replace the cab, York three days later shelled out $10,000 to outfit the Crown Victoria as a taxi, but the process was time-consuming to get back on the road.

“I was without a sedan for a month,” York said. “Not much profit this year.”

Regular customers include Gorham residents without a driver’s license who need rides to work, elderly, university faculty or students, and tourists.

York, a Gorham native whose father once owned Neal and York Funeral Home in Gorham, likes meeting the people and hearing their stories and about their families or their jobs. One of his regular customers moves yachts for Hollywood stars, business executives and political figures.

Some fares haven’t been so interesting. Customers have slammed doors, kicked the cab, jumped out without paying and spit on him. “A taxi driver takes a lot of abuse,” York said.

He has even heard people in his cab making drug deals by cell phone.

“It’s amazing,” he said.

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Un-fare! Cabs struggle as costs soarUn-fare! Cabs struggle as costs soar

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