Official says more cabbies are turning to Kenner because of rising prices for a limited number of certificates available in New Orleans
New taxi cab drivers looking to offer their services in Kenner will soon have to look elsewhere. Faced with a surging number of monthly applications and rising competition with New Orleans' taxi industry, the Kenner City Council placed a moratorium last week on any new licenses for taxi cabs looking to operate in the city.
Increased rates for drivers to get cab certificates in New Orleans have led to increased demand in Jefferson Parish and Kenner.Known officially as Certificates of Public Necessity and Convenience, the licenses are connected to individual vehicles. Drivers have to acquire a separate license to use them.
Kenner has 290 registered taxis operating in the city limits, compared to the 243 taxis operating in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, a much more populated area. That lopsidedness is related to Kenner's proximity to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
Kenner granted seven certificates in July, 13 in August and 26 in September, said Code Enforcement Director Tamithia Shaw, who described the increase as unusual.
Shaw attributes the increase in issuances, as well as in applications -- one company recently asked for 400 certificates -- to rising prices for the limited number of certificates available in New Orleans.
"Most of (the applicants) are just telling me they were renting these from New Orleans and they're raising the rates on them or they're taking (the certificates) back from them," Shaw said.
New Orleans has a set number of roughly 1,600 certificates, said Ryan Berni, spokesman for Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office. The ceiling makes them a hot commodity among taxi companies looking to serve the city's tourists.
Kenner's moratorium will go into effect in the next two weeks, Councilwoman Michele Branigan said. She added that the goal was to make it easier for longtime, and presumably more local, licensed taxi cab owners. But the surge of out-of-town applications trying to beat the moratorium's start took the council somewhat by surprise.
"This is going against the whole intent of what we're trying to do," Branigan said.
She said the moratorium will stay in place until Kenner officials can find a way to improve Kenner taxis' abilities to compete with those vehicles based in New Orleans.
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Richard Rainey can be reached at rrainey@timespicayune.com or 504.883.7052.