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Community Corner

Tampa Gov't Forces Businesses to Overcharge Customers

http://ij.org/TampaFaresVid The government shouldn't make it a crime for businesses to give customers a good deal merely to protect politically powerful insiders from competition. Yet that is exactly what the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission is doing by forcing limo and sedan drivers to charge consumers $50 a ride, no matter how short the ride, even if drivers want to charge less.


A coalition including a driver, his small limousine business and customers in Hillsborough County, however, has finally had enough and has filed suit in Circuit Court arguing that the commission’s mandatory minimum fare violates the Florida Constitution’s protections for entrepreneurs and consumers alike. To watch a brief video on the case, visit: www.IJ.org/TampaFaresVid.

The commission’s job is to protect the public, not to protect taxicab and other limousine companies from competition. Instead, it is forcing customers to overpay for limousine services and impeding job creation by preventing small-business owners from expanding their businesses by offering better deals to potential customers.

Not only has the PTC directly harmed the people of Hillsborough County, but it has violated multiple sections of the Florida Constitution. That is why a coalition including Tampa consumers, a limousine driver and his small limousine business has joined forces with the Institute for Justice to vindicate the right of entrepreneurs to offer customers a better deal.
http://ij.org/TampaFaresVid 

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