SEATTLE — The Port of Seattle has decided to award the contract for exclusive rights to pick up passengers at the airport to a different cab company, after a state audit forced officials to bid out the agreement again.
Yellow Cab was the top bidder among six companies and will start airport service next September. It will share 13 percent of its fees with the port, or more than $18 million over the five-year contract.
The new contract wasn’t expected to affect fares.
The Seattle-Tacoma International Taxi Association has held the exclusive contract since 1989. Other cab companies could drop people off, but only association drivers could pick up people on port property.
Former U.S. Attorney Mike McKay was hired by the port last year to look into its contracting practices, following a state audit that found them lax and vulnerable to fraud.
The 10-month investigation did not uncover any embezzlement or personal gain by port employees. But it did find 10 instances of fraud, including a port employee’s decision to provide a potential bidder with internal cost estimates for a runway project.
The association had paid about $10 million during the current contract, said Perry Cooper, a port spokesman. The company bid $14 million on the new contract but decided not to go higher out of concern for drivers’ wages.
Association drivers fear they may be out of work by next fall because their cabs are licensed only in King County, which means they can’t pick up fares in Seattle city limits.
“We’re still in shock. I watched a lot of grown men cry last night,” said Sheila Stickel, a spokeswoman for the association.
The port is encouraging Yellow Cab to hire association drivers as it expands under the new contract.
“We’re going to do everything possible to work with taxicab operators already servicing the port,” said Chris Van Dyk, who represents the company.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
