Run silent but safe

In response to the termination of free electric taxis, a groundswell of support has appeared for the charming vehicles that gave downtown Tampa a resort feel.

With imagination and flexibility, officials can bring them back.

Tourists and convention-goers love them, and so do downtown workers. But it isn't enough that the silent, smokeless carts are popular. Complaints from the highly regulated taxi companies were on point and persuasive. If a regular cab must be licensed and meet safety and quality standards, why does the competition get a pass?

If the little taxi carts are ignored and allowed to continue carrying passengers below the bureaucratic radar, the big cab companies might follow the golf-cart business model, operating low-cost vehicles whose revenue comes from advertising fees and passenger tips. But if all are regulated in the same category, the electric carts will be squeezed out, because no additional taxi licenses are available.

If the entire business were deregulated, a variety of gypsy drivers would soon be roaring around town in beat-up clunkers, golf carts or anything with wheels. In a few weeks Tampa would look like a Third World city.

Cabs are regulated and their numbers limited for a good reason. The rules help reputable companies make a profit and guarantee a certain level of reliability and quality.

A compromise, being sought by Hillsborough County's Public Transportation Commission and the Downtown Partnership, should find a fair way to return the golf-cart-like vehicles to service without greatly upsetting the existing system.

Other cities allow similar vehicles. Rickshaws in San Francisco, for example, are licensed. Among other requirements, operators must be insured, bonded and have basic safety equipment.

It is safety that tops the list of challenges. What happens if a little golf cart full of people is rear-ended by a speeding car or run over by a bus? The same question can be asked of bicycles, motor scooters and other small vehicles that are legal to operate on public streets.

Despite the risks, use of these low- or no-horsepower vehicles should be encouraged, especially in areas where public money is being invested to promote pedestrian activity. The city's job is to minimize the risks. Along with a new licensing mechanism, Tampa needs to designate special lanes and pull-off areas for slow, ultralight vehicles.

Signs should be posted warning of their presence. Speed limits can be lowered in the specially marked lanes.

The legal obstacles the little taxis ran into should become a starting point to make Tampa safer for everyone who dares travel outside of 3,000 pounds of protective steel.