Scientists have a saying that no matter how beautiful a theory may be, occasionally one has to look at the results.
Currently, government makes the decision on how many taxi companies should be allowed to do business in Lincoln.
The theory is that if open competition were allowed, taxi companies would run each other out of business and the city would end up without any taxi service at all.
It's time to test that theory.
Under the system set up by the Legislature decades ago, the Public Service Commission has the responsibility for determining how many taxi companies a community can support.
Right now, taxi service in the Capital City is provided by a single company, Servant Cab. During the past decade, there has been little interest by other companies in entering the Lincoln market. During that span, only one company made a serious application, and it ended up backing out.
In recent weeks, however, the quality of taxi service in Lincoln has suddenly become a cause celebrate. Ben Johnson of Lincoln helped start a Facebook page, "Where are the Lincoln cabs?"
Politicians are grumbling that the lack of service makes Lincoln look backward. Sen. Bill Avery has introduced a bill that would exempt companies in Lincoln and Omaha from the requirement they must prove their service is a public convenience and necessity.
A frequent complaint is that people can't get a cab when the bars close at 2 a.m.
Now OMALiNK and Omaha-based Happy Cab and its four sister companies have filed applications to be allowed to jump into the Lincoln market.
Amy Sovereign summed up the situation nicely in a letter to the City Council.
"I cannot tell you how many times I've tried to call a cab for myself or my friends and haven't been able to get one or refuse to pay outrageous rates," she wrote. "It's a free country. If someone wants to try and start up a business and is willing to risk failure — why is it anyone else's problem? It's their loss if they fail."
Servant Cab plans to protest the applications from the companies that plan to enter the Lincoln market. Co-owner Vance Young says that a company cannot afford to buy 30 cars just to have them on hand for a 30-minute to an hour busy stretch as the bars close.
The Journal Star editorial board thinks it's time for a reality check on the premise that government protection is necessary to ensure a viable market for a taxicab company. One way is for the PSC to grant one or both applications by competing companies. Avery's bill would provide a more long-lasting change.
Either way would provide taxi patrons more options. We say, let 'em ride.
