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West Virginia PSC Cites Unauthorized Belmont County Taxi Cab Service

Two Businesses Lodged?Complaints Against Belmont County Man

Photo Provided A Hopper’s Transport vehicle sits idle. The photo was included in a formal complaint filed against the business’s owner with the West Virginia Public Service Commission.

WHEELING — The West Virginia Public Service Commission’s Transportation Enforcement Division issued two citations to a Belmont County man after it received formal complaints of his independent taxi service operating without the state’s authority.

Brian Giles, owner of BMG Transport, the former JCC Transportation taxi service in Wheeling, and J.R. Peabody of the Rainbow Tavern Cab Co. in Glen Dale submitted the complaints. They believe Jason Springer, 44, wrongfully operated his business, Hopper’s Transport, within Marshall and Ohio counties, areas where both Giles and Peabody own certificates of operation which guarantee their owners territorial rights.

These certificates are issued by the PSC.

Susan Small, director of federal affairs for the PSC, said Springer will appear in Ohio County Magistrate Court within 10 days for two fines of up to $100.

They include failure to display a United States Department of Transportation number and failure to wear eyeglasses while driving, as required by Springer’s Ohio driver’s license. If he pleads not guilty, Springer’s case will go to trial in magistrate court.

Springer was cited Wednesday in a sting operation at The Highlands in which an undercover PSC officer phoned Hopper’s Transport for a ride to Ace Garage in Fulton.

Following receipt of Giles’ and Peabody’s initial complaints, the PSC issued two orders on Sept. 20 for Springer to “satisfy the formal complaint,” or the commission would investigate. Springer said he did not know about the PSC’s investigation.

“I’m just a guy trying to survive,” Springer said. “They dictate who makes the money and who doesn’t. That’s all the DOT (West Virginia Department of Transportation), PSC and DMV (West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles) do. How am I supposed to succeed when they won’t let me?”

Springer said because his business is based in Bridgeport, he did not believe he needed approval to operate in West Virginia. He said he had received business licenses from Belmont County and the city of Wheeling.

Springer said a majority of his business is interstate travel.

A Facebook page for the business advertises Hopper’s as an “Ohio Valley rideshare service,” although Giles’ formal complaint includes marketing material which labels the company as a taxi service. As a rideshare company, Springer could legally operate within Giles and Peabody’s territories, so long as he followed the guidelines of West Virginia’s “Uber bill.”

The West Virginia Legislature approved House Bill 4228 this year, so businesses such as Uber and Lyft could operate within the state. Rideshare services, or transportation network companies, as they’re formally known, differ from traditional taxi services in that they connect customers with contracted drivers through smartphone applications, rather than directly sell a service.

Neither Uber nor Lyft have launched in the Wheeling area, although Uber does now operate in Morgantown, Charleston and Huntington.

To start a rideshare company in West Virginia, the business owner must apply for a transportation network company permit with an application fee of $1,000, adhere to a zero-tolerance drug policy. Such businesses cannot accept cash payments. Springer said he had not obtained such a permit through West Virginia, and said Ohio does not require one.

According to Ohio House Bill 237, all TNCs must receive a permit through the Ohio Public Utilities Commission. According to Small and Mike Maggard, Director of the West Virginia DMV, the only TNC so far registered in West Virginia is Uber.

“This is a guy who just slapped a decal on the side of his car,” Giles said. “Basically, he claims to be under the Uber bill, and he’s not.”

Springer said Giles’ complaint only exists because Hopper’s Transport is fair competition against what he calls a “monopoly.” He said BMG employees have harassed him and his wife through social media.

Giles denied this, although he did acknowledge Springer’s business is detrimental to his own. He said Hopper’s fares beat his own by 25 percent, and they are price points with which he cannot keep pace.

Springer championed his lower rates as a benefit for riders, especially those on low incomes who lack reliable transportation.

Springer said he’s been in touch with a lawyer, and said he does not intend to shutter his business. According to him, he’s no longer allowed to operate within West Virginia, but he can continue to do so across the river.

“I will never quit,” Springer wrote on Hopper’s Transport’s Facebook page. “We will be bigger than you will ever think. We were helping a system that was broken, helping out people from being ripped off.”

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