Local airport commission approves new taxi rules

The Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved new rules guiding the conduct of taxi drivers and other contractors, including rules that limit terminal access.

The vote caps a six-month process that included meetings with taxi drivers, drafts of the proposed rules and rewriting drafts of the proposals.

“We think the rules are workable and fair,” said Barbara Hutchinson, airport executive director.

The new rules include a strict dress code for drivers and requirements that they remain within 15 feet of their vehicles, except for short restroom or lunch breaks. The rules also prohibit loitering in the airport lobby.

The rules are a big deal to drivers, most of whom rely on airport fares for their livings. Unlike larger airports such as Richmond, the airport has fewer fares from incoming passenger flights and those flights are often hours apart. The down time gives drivers a lot of time to kill and the scarcity of customers fosters competition.

Although drivers were not unanimously happy with the proposed rules, only one showed up to the meeting to address the issues, officials said.

Hutchinson said the airport will revisit the rules and change them, if necessary.

“This is a living document in that we expect to look at it several times as things change,” she said. “If a rule is no longer needed, we can look at changing it as time goes on.”