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Some taxi patrons in Carbondale may think riding with strangers is expected when calling a cab, but Carbondale's taxicab zoning system makes some customers feel like sardines.

Carbondale taxicab services operate on a zoning system where the city is dissected into 25 to 30 zones to determine fares. This system allows drivers to pick up multiple passengers at a time.

Rob Taylor, owner of Moonlight Taxi, said the zoning system is complicated, confusing and provides terrible customer service because drivers have to pick up multiple passengers. The only benefit is the price for a ride is cheap.

Taylor suggested Carbondale use a meter system like bigger cities. This provides better customer service because drivers pick up one passenger at a time, he said.

"I think ... Carbondale will go to meters within a couple of years," he said.

Assistant City Manager for Economic Development Kevin Baity said there are no plans to adopt a meter system for taxicabs because Carbondale is too small. He said the committee reviewing the zoning system plans to decrease the number of zones to 10 to make it easier for drivers to decipher fares.

April Murren, a junior from Rockford studying elementary education, said her experiences with Moonlight Taxi were not pleasant. When she went out on weekends her and her friends would pack into a cab with strangers, sometimes having to sit on top of each other.

"I think it's always cheap," she said. "But asking people you don't know to sit on your lap is weird."

Murren said as long as the taxicabs pick up the amount of people who can legally fit inside, the zoning system is not a problem for her.

Taylor Gustafson, a junior from Rockford studying photography and Murren's friend, said he is used to having drunken strangers sit on his lap while riding in a taxicab.

"It didn't really bother me as long as I get to my destination," he said.

Tamika Kimble, a student from Chicago studying accounting at John A. Logan College, has a 5-month-old son who she took to a doctor's appointment using Yellow Cab. She waited an hour and a half and was late to the appointment after having to wait for another cab to arrive because the one that came was filled with passengers.

After multiple phone calls, Yellow Cab owners could not be reached.

Lydia Bargielski can be reached at 618-536-3311 ext. 258 or at lydia.bargielski@siude.com.

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