Way back in November 2009 Meck Deck readers learned that Mecklenburg County DSS spent millions each year on taxi-cab rides for residents. Today the county has finally announced a policy change. Effective August 1, all such transportation will be handled via CATS and its contractors, not taxis. Also, fares for the service will be bumped up to recover all costs associated with the service.
On its face, the change could save the county millions. The vendor data set originally obtained by local attorney Tom Ashcraft indicated that DSS spent a whopping $6.5m. on such services just in 2009:
* $2,302,372 for Crown Cab Co.
* $2,249,903 for AA Prestige Taxi Service
* $434,015 for Southeast Transportation
*$343,542 for Taxi Shuttle Express
*$294,089 for Charlotte Checker Cab Co.
* $260,295 for A-1 Wheelchair Transport
* $254,255 for Dunstan Transportation
* $200,688 for Elite Transportation and Courier
* $179,793 for American Wheel Chair Transportation
Recall that when I dropped this info into the ongoing county budget debate back in March, it was met with disbelief. After all, it represented a staggering $17,825 expense each day.
Still unknown is the total DSS spent on taxi rides over the years. But it is also possible that the change will mostly allow CATS to book additional revenue while cutting taxi-cabs out of the action, resulting in little total savings. We’ll just have to see what happens next — if the taxi folks scream like crazy, if savings materialize.
What is for certain is that if Ashcraft had not asked DSS for the actual hard data nothing would have happened. Once confronted with the reality of its policy, the county — eventually — found it unsustainable.
