Posted on: Friday, June 28, 2002
Taxi-inspection road jam almost over for this year
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
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| Taxis yesterday were lined up under the freeway near the Kapahulu inspection site as the deadline approached.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser |
Today should be the last day of this year's traffic jam at Kapahulu and Harding avenues fronting the city's Motor Vehicle Control Section as the last of 1,359 taxis come in for their annual inspection.
It can't come soon enough for area residents and merchants.
Rebecca Noda, owner of Lazy Bonez skateboard shop across the street on Kapahulu Avenue, said it is the same thing every year — dozens of taxis lined up and blocking streets, all waiting to get inspections at the same time.
"Last year there was a fight between some drivers trying to get in and a city guy," Noda said. "Why do they all have to come to the same place?"
The Kaimuki location is the city's only site for taxi inspections, and it is open only from 1 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., according to city spokeswoman Carol Costa. To ease the last-minute crunch, Motor Vehicle Control inspectors regularly go to places where taxis gather, such as the airport, to do inspections on the spot, Costa said.
"People wait until that last minute, and it taxes our employees, and that's why we do our best to go out and find them and do the inspections," Costa said. "The MVC section forgoes any vacations at this time of year so they are fully staffed to handle the number of taxis requiring inspection."
Still, for the past couple of weeks, taxis have been backed up on city streets waiting to enter the lot for an inspection, making it difficult for traffic to pass. Police are called when traffic backs up outside the motor vehicle offices, Costa said.
"Our employees do not have the authority to handle traffic enforcement," she said.
All taxis are required be inspected by the July 1 deadline to show they are dent free, clean with working interior lights, have a valid safety check, and their meter and meter seal are in place and operating, said Costa.
Further aggravating the situation are inspections of custom or reconstructed private cars, which are performed at the same site. About 2,600 reconstructed cars are inspected throughout the year, Costa said, but the ones due for an annual check July 1 get caught in the taxi congestion.
Yesterday, once a line of cars inside the inspection lot reached the gate, a city worker put traffic cones in front of the driveway, locked the gate and walked away, leaving bewildered taxi drivers in the street with no idea what to do to get their inspections.
"They need to hire more people to make these inspections," said a taxi driver who didn't want his name used for fear of reprisal. "They close the gate, we can't get in and the cops tell us to move. What a mess."
Mackenzie Hanson drove up to have his Chevy Blazer inspected at about 1:45 p.m. yesterday and waited in the left lane for the gate to open. His SUV has a three-inch drop in the front end, so it requires a reconstructed car inspection.
"I waited a half-hour yesterday," said Hanson, who came back again because he needs to have the inspection done before he can get a new safety sticker, which expires Sunday.
Hanson was lucky. Just before 2 p.m. a worker opened the gate and he and about 30 frantic taxi drivers sped in before the gate was locked again a few minutes later. Several more taxis pulled up, blocking Kapahulu Avenue. The drivers peered at the locked gate, wondering what to do.
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
