Preliminary Hearing Held in First Step to Offer Taxi Services in Northern Allegheny County

Will there be cab service in Pine Township and neighboring communities?

Maybe, but not in the immediate future.

The held a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Pittsburgh in response to a request by the Yellow Cab Company of Pittsburgh to offer services in Pine and Marshall townships, Bradford Woods and Franklin Park, according to its application.

It also is seeking approval to expand into the Cranberry Township, Seven Fields, Mars and Adams Township areas.

Denise McCracken, spokesperson for the PUC, said that the next step will be for Administrative Law Judge Mary Long to review the court transcripts. She has 90 days after the close of the records to render a decision. McCracken said she did not know when the records would be considered closed.

After Long’s decision, the case is then reviewed by the five-member commission who will either accept or modify the decision. “It isn’t written in stone how long that would take, but they usually act fairly quickly,” said McCracken.

If Yellow Cab is approved to expand its services, it will then have to file a tariff within 30 days of the commission’s decision. “Basically, the tariff tells us what they will charge,” said McCracken.

Although the process has the potential of lasting several months, it could move faster, according to McCracken.