Three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, taxis are making a comeback and competing with rideshare services.
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The I-Team hit the streets on a recent Friday night at the United Center after a Bulls game, with inspectors from the Chicago's Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department (BACP).
"I'm going to park here and I am going to walk," said one inspector as they looked for unlicensed or fake taxis trying to cash in on the demand after events.
Investigators quickly spotted more than five counterfeit cabs.
They said one is a fake made to look like a Yellow Taxi, with some taxi markings but with no medallion and no light number. When investigators tried to take an undercover ride, the driver wouldn't accept, saying he has another passenger to pick up. As a result, BACP couldn't issue a citation.
But minutes later the driver offered a fare: "$29 flat fee to 151 East Wacker."
A citation was issued. Investigators pointed out the taxi cab image on the driver's door, but no medallion. There is a light on the top of the car, but it does not have a taxi number and no taxi plate.
"It is Uber and the top light is identification for Uber," the driver told the I-Team.
The driver had an Uber sign in the window of the vehicle, but it was clearly marked as a taxi. Investigators said his claim of using Uber is not valid.
"I was not on Uber at any time, I did not signal for a ride on Uber. I just waved my hand and asked him if he was a taxi and he said get in," said Joseph Sneed, manager of business compliance at BACP, who performed the inspection.
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The driver was issued three citations, including one for "taxi cab appearance" and one for "deceptive practice." His court date is in March.
What's the risk of riding rogue?
"The danger is you have no recourse if something was to happen, if there's an accident if in fact, you know they got to be some sort of altercation at the end of the trip," said BACP Commissioner Ken Meyer.
There is also no way to find a lost item, an unlicensed taxi may not have insurance and it was not subjected to an annual city mechanical inspection. Myer showed the I-Team dozens of examples of recent unlicensed taxi violations.
Overall, they are taxi cabs without the proper license, no medallions and also outright fake taxis.
"Do not ever get in this car," advised Myer. "This is a regular Illinois license plate, not a taxi license plate. And that's that the hood ornament that just says taxi. Right, it's not licensed."
In addition to looking for that a special color license plate, Myer said the hood light will always have a taxi number.
"That number is going to match the taxi cab license plate and that same number are going to be in both your doors," he said.
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Since 2021, the numbers of active taxis with four rides or more per month have almost doubled. An average 2,400 licensed cabs are now back on Chicago's streets.
There are also legitimate cabs which may be trying to charge a higher flat rate fee after popular events or when the bars shut down.
When the I-Team recently tried to take a taxi ride, the driver said it was a $45 fare. When asked why he wasn't using the meter, he replied, "Because the meter is not enough to feed my family with all of the expense."
The I-Team found several cab drivers at the United Center trying to charge a $40 to $45 flat rate to get downtown. That same ride on a meter would be about $20.
BACP said taxi drivers can't charge flat rates unless they run the meter, and even then it has to be lower than the meter price.
Attorney Furqan Mohammed, who represents hundreds of taxi cab drivers responded saying, "Just to operate a taxi, it's monthly fees, monthly expenses, inspections that you have to go through, renewal fees that you have to pay all those things add up. So when a taxi driver sees an instance where Uber, Lyft are surging, and there's a game or an event, some of them, I've heard them wanting to do the same exact thing, and they shouldn't be doing it. But it happens, unfortunately."
If you want to report a driver who is charging you a higher flat rate or if you spot a fake taxi you can call 311.
You can also use the Curb and Arro apps to get licensed taxis which will come to you like an Uber or Lyft, except there is never a surge fee.