Minneapolis Taxis
Minneapolis Taxi Owners Coalition, Inc. v. City of Minneapolis
Defending Minneapolis’ Free-Market Taxi Reforms
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IJ Client Luis Paucar
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Private companies cannot use government power to outlaw competition, yet this is precisely what the established taxi cartel in Minneapolis is trying to do.
In October 2006, the city removed an artificial government-imposed cap on the number of taxis legally permitted to operate within city limits. The new ordinance increases the number of taxicabs on the street each year until 2010, when the cap will be lifted entirely, opening the door to all taxi businesses that are fit, willing and able to serve the public. Predictably, the city’s taxi cartel is now suing to keep out newcomers by attempting to maintain its stranglehold on the industry. The cartel’s action is the last gasp of a dinosaur that free-market reforms have made extinct.
The city was right to open the taxi market because consumers, not a self-interested cartel, should decide how many taxicabs operate in Minneapolis. Allowing entrepreneurs to enter the taxi market by meeting basic requirements, such as having a well-maintained, inspected vehicle and carrying insurance, will benefit consumers and entrepreneurs alike.
The cartel’s baseless lawsuit threatens consumers like Blanca Prescott-a blind, single mother of three-while violating the civil rights of entrepreneurs like taxicab owner Luis Paucar. Simply put, Luis has the right to earn an honest living in the occupation of his choice free from government-enforced barriers to entry erected to protect existing companies, and consumers like Blanca should be free to choose who provides their transportation services. That is why on May 1, 2007, the Institute for Justice Minnesota Chapter (IJ-MN) filed legal papers to intervene in the suit brought by the taxi cartel in order to defend the free-market reforms on behalf of Luis Paucar and Blanca Prescott.
The Institute for Justice Minnesota Chapter fights for the rights of entrepreneurs to earn an honest living free from arbitrary discrimination and consumers to choose the services that best meet their needs. Already, IJ-MN has scored victories for economic liberty on behalf of African-style hairbraiders, family wineries and sign-hangers.