Save the Taxis

The people of Cambridge, represented by their city councillors, unanimously oppose the U.S. Shuttle to Logan Airport. The service comes to town due entirely to judicial fiat and the decree of a statewide bureaucratic agency.

We support free and fair competition. U.S. Shuttle offers cheap fares, however, only because they themselves are getting a free ride. As a Boston-based company, they are exempt from all medallion fees charged other Cambridge taxis--an unfair, unconscionable preferential treatment.

And what of social justice? The typical Harvard student's parents earn around $100,000 per year, while the average Cambridge cabbie makes between $15,000 and $25,000, mostly relying on fares to Logan. Since shuttle service commenced, taxi drivers have reported a decline in business of over 50 percent. The haves are benefiting at the expense of the have-nots.

An endorsement of U.S. Shuttle is simply a betrayal of the working poor for about $12 one-way.