Jolly Trolley owners: Cabs stealing customers

Taxicabs that park at designated bus stops and poach prospective trolley customers have the owners of the Jolly Trolley in Rehoboth Beach not feeling so jolly.

Jolly Trolley operators David, Christina and Taylor Hastings said taxicabs have been soliciting customers, often by parking at Jolly Trolley stop signs and approaching customers waiting for the trolley. Some cab companies have also been placing stickers for their cabs on the Jolley Trolley stop signs, the Hastings’ said.

Taylor Hastings said the cabs presented a public safety issue by blocking traffic or because customers sometimes pile into a cab in the middle of the street. He also said cabs create confusion for drivers and customers. Some cab drivers say they are affiliated with the Jolly Trolley to poach customers, Taylor Hastings said.

He also said direct solicitation started in 2007 and has gotten worse every year. He said some cab drivers themselves have been a problem when confronted, with reports of harassment by cabbies against Jolly Trolley operations. At one point during a presentation at the Monday, April 4 commissioners’ meeting, a cabbie is pictured giving the proverbial “one-fingered salute” to the camera when confronted by the Jolly Trolley operator.

The poached customers have also been affecting the Jolly Trolley’s ability to compete and is harming their bottom line, the Hastings’ said. The Jolly Trolley has been serving Rehoboth since the 1970s. David Hastings said the trolley’s stagnating numbers are attributable to cabs poaching customers, not competing bus lines like DART, also a fixed route operation. He said DART and the Jolly Trolley run different routes for the most part, and don’t directly compete for the same customers.

“People certainly do have the right to take whatever transportation they want. We’re not trying to stop people from taking any transport they want. Our issue is, the system we built is being poached in a way that is very systematic. If that continues to happen, it will develop into a big public safety issue because you’ll have cabs lined up at the stops,” David Hastings said.

He said people that go to the Jolly Trolley stops do so to ride the Jolly Trolley. David Hastings said the cabs wait until just before the trolley approaches the station and then swoop in and pick up passengers. The problems are very pronounced in Dewey at the trolley stop outside the Starboard.

The Hastings’ proposed regulation that would deter passenger poaching at fixed route stops by implementing fines on those soliciting passengers at these stops, as well as fines for being within 100 feet of a licensed, fixed route stop.

City Solicitor Glenn Mandalas said while Jolly Trolley is a great business, there are legal issues involved in restricting free trade.

“I’m concerned that if you (the commissioners) were to do anything that would favor their business to the detriment of the taxi cab drivers, you may be violating free trade laws,” Mandalas said.

Commissioner Pat Coluzzi said the cabs shouldn’t be soliciting at fixed route stops, which are approved by the Department of Transportation. Mayor Sam Cooper said the stops are on public streets.

Christina Hastings said the family had contacted state officials about doing something and were told to go through local authorities. Mandalas asked whether the Hastings’ had considered or taken private action against the cab companies or drivers. David Hastings said proving such a case would be difficult and end up taking a great deal of time.

“Frankly, it’s making us very unfocused. Very unjolly,” he said.

David Hastings said many of the cab drivers are coming from up north, are not familiar with the city’s regulations and are doing anything they can to make a buck. The commissioners’ brought up the idea of having separate waiting areas for cabs. City Manager Greg Ferrese said the problem with that is potentially taking parking away from in front of businesses.

Commissioner Dennis Barbour said while the Hastings’ were making a strong case, the city needed to find out what its legal authority is before it could take action. The commissioners agreed to let Mandalas research the legal aspects before the city moves forward.