City Council lowers minimum affiliated taxi cabs from 40 to 10 in code update

Alexandria City Council on Nov. 5 approved code amendments to its taxicab licensing rules to reflect changing market conditions for taxi companies.

Sheila McGraw, the city's parking and curbside manager, told council staff proposed two principal changes: reduce the minimum number of affiliated cabs a company must hold from 40 to 10, and revise prescriptive dispatch metrics while retaining a dispatch requirement. "Lowering the minimum number of affiliated cabs in a company from 40 to 10, to allow smaller companies to continue to operate," McGraw said during the staff presentation.

Union Cab Company and its counsel asked council to consider a compromise of 20 cabs, citing competitiveness and local market concerns; Madison Gibbs, representing Union Cab, said the company recommended 20 based on its current membership. Council members discussed ADA access and dispatch-volume implications before moving the ordinance forward.

Outcome: Council voted to approve the ordinance at second reading and final passage by roll‑call vote; the clerk recorded the ayes and the motion carried.

What the change means: Staff said the revision is intended to modernize regulation without removing a dispatch requirement and to allow smaller, locally based cab operators to remain viable as market conditions evolve.

Next steps: The ordinance takes effect per the code’s usual effective-date rules; implementation questions such as dispatch compliance and ADA service obligations will be monitored by staff.