Mansfield Taxi Changing Hands

The Mansfield Board of Selectmen voted 5-0 to approve a transfer of ownership of Mansfield/Sharon Taxi to the Veteran’s Taxi service of Newton on Wednesday.

The decision came under scrutiny during discussion when selectman Jess Aptowitz asked if the taxi cabs and drivers already certified by Mansfield to do pickups in Mansfield would continue working in Mansfield or would new and uncertified drivers/vehicles be taking over.

“We’re going to have a company here that we don’t know,” he said. “We haven’t seen them haven’t talked to them… Now this is a new company that’s going to take over this business and we don’t know anything about them.”

Such a review is called a hacking license, which basically allows a cab and its driver to pick up in that town. Each town that the company works for must sign off on that company before they can pick up in that town. Drop offs on the other hand, as town Manager William Ross pointed out, are impossible to regulate.

Aptowitz continued on the subject, asking if the police and public safety personnel have signed off on the transfer. Ross said that despite the change of ownership, only taxis already signed off to operate in Mansfield can operate in Mansfield, regardless of the name of the taxi.

“If you're bringing in any additional drivers… they’re going to have to be individually licensed and inspected,” he said. “Drivers that are already licensed in Mansfield despite ownership being transferred would remain in Mansfield.”