Mile High Cab appeals denial of cab-company application by Public Utility Commission

The November feature story "Mean Streets" detailed how frustrated taxi drivers had been attempting to launch company of their own, Mile High Cab, since September 2008. The process culminated in a Public Utilities Commission ruling two months ago that rejected the attempt -- but the drivers weren't ready to throw...

By Joel Warner

January 12, 2011

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The November feature story "Mean Streets" detailed how frustrated taxi drivers had been attempting to launch company of their own, Mile High Cab, since September 2008. The process culminated in a Public Utilities Commission ruling two months ago that rejected the attempt -- but the drivers weren't ready to throw in the towel. This week, they appealed to the PUC, asking officials to reconsider their decision.

The seventeen-page appeal argues that the PUC and other regulatory officials were wrong to reject Mile High Cab's application when such cab competition was specifically encouraged by recent state law and would provide public value. The petition also references the story "Mean Streets," which details alleged abuse and discrimination at one of the existing cab companies, as an example of the poor working conditions Mile High Cab's applicants are trying to remedy.

the PUC has thirty days to respond to the filing -- either reversing their earlier decision, re-opening the case, or rejecting this last-ditch appeal. If they re-open the case, the applicants could be looking at a minimum of six more months of legal wrangling, predicts their lawyer, Tom Russell. And if the PUC rejects the plea? "Well, it's the last step before you go to court," says Russell.

In other words, the fight to launch Mile High Cab continues -- 853 days after it first began.

More from our Follow That Story archive: "Metro Taxi's $10,000 for Hick's inauguration payback for opposing Mile High Cab?" Follow Joel Warner on Twitter @joelmwarner

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Joel Warner is a former staff writer for Westword and International Business Times. He's also written for WIRED, Men's Journal, Men's Health, Bloomberg Businessweek, Popular Science, Slate, Grantland and many other publications. He's co-author of the 2014 book The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny, published by Simon & Schuster.

Contact: Joel Warner