The Atlanta City Council voted Monday to permanently allow taxi cabs to be up to 10 years old to pick up passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Cabbies have pushed the city for years to permanently allow older cabs at the airport, saying they can’t afford to buy new rides every seven years.
“Everything is expensive,” said Atlanta cab driver Tesfay Kelate. If cabbies have to buy a new car more often, “it’s going to be hard to live.”
The council approved the measure after the body’s transportation committee voted in favor of it last week.
The cab age limit was 10 years before the council changed the cap to seven years in 2017. That change was part of a broader effort to legalize and regulate Uber and Lyft pickups at Hartsfield-Jackson.
In 2020, the City Council approved a temporary waiver to allow cabs up to 10 years old to pick up at the airport. In 2022, they extended the relief for two years through 2024.
The measure to make the 10-year age cap permanent applies to cabs and rideshare vehicles, such as Uber and Lyft, picking up passengers at the airport.
One council member, Alex Wan, voted against the measure, saying he was concerned about the timing with the upcoming World Cup, and investments being made at Hartsfield-Jackson. The airport is the first experience of Atlanta for many people visiting the city.
An earlier version of the ordinance proposed to more broadly deregulate the taxi industry by repealing certain requirements for taximeters and the standard appearance of cabs. Cab drivers opposed the removal of many of the taxi standards, but rallied to support the measure to permanently allow older taxi cabs.
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