State sues for $760,000 SIDA taxi claim

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

The state attorney general's office is suing the SIDA of Hawaii taxicab company, claiming the firm owes the state approximately $760,000 under a contract that gave SIDA the rights to charge taxi drivers a fee to pick up or deliver passengers at Honolulu International Airport.

According to a lawsuit filed yesterday by Deputy Attorney General John Gillmor, SIDA agreed to pay $1.54 million in exchange for the rights to manage taxi service at the airport from Feb. 1, 1999, to Jan. 31, 2003.

The taxi company paid some of the fees but owed $758,763.25, including interest and late charges as of Jan. 31, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit asks that a judgment in the amount of the alleged arrearage and that a $54,000 security deposit made by SIDA at the time it was awarded the airport concession be turned over to the state Department of Transportation, which manages the public airports in the state.

SIDA officials could not be reached to comment yesterday.

The taxi company ceased operations and handed over its offices at Honolulu International Airport to competitor TheCab on May 10, leaving about 100 cab drivers temporarily without a job.

In January, Edwin Matsumoto, SIDA's chief executive officer, blamed the decline in visitors for the company's inability to make timely payments to the state. The shortfall also prevented SIDA from bidding on the new airport contract.

The contract was awarded in February on an interim basis to TheCab, which hired about 80 former SIDA cab drivers.