.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} My friend and I tried to do the right thing. We were headed for the Grand Tasting at Winefest Des Moines and we wanted to enjoy it with unfettered enthusiasm. It’s not that our goal was to overimbibe – the decorum at wine tastings is such that drunken stumbling is as out of place as a screw-top bottle of Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill – but with scores of wineries and distributors offering sips of their best vintages, do the math. Taking a taxi was the responsible choice.

We accepted the dispatcher’s apology for a 35-minute wait with grace. But when more than an hour had passed and the dispatcher was unable to even estimate when we might expect the cab to pull into the driveway, good humor disappeared. “There are a lot of people who want to be picked up and they’re running really late” was all she offered.

At least no one was having a baby or trying to catch a flight.

We designated a driver and drove. Downtown was busy with Winefest and an Iowa Cubs home game, and we were lucky enough to find a parking space.

That isn’t the point.

The point is that Des Moines – Iowa’s capital city, without even a cab stand – needs to modernize its taxi ordinance. It’s shameful, really. Capitol Cab and Yellow Cab have licenses to operate in the city, but they’re dispatched by the same company and, if the recent weekend was any example, woefully ill-equipped to meet the demand for their services. The situation isn’t going to improve any time soon. The city requires that licensed taxicab companies carry $1.5 million in liability insurance per vehicle – an exorbitant amount, twice as much as either Madison and Omaha and the antithesis of Kansas City’s $50,000 requirement, according to a story on WHO-TV news last month – and prohibits suburban cab companies from picking up fares in the city.

This is just plain wrong. Too cozy. If it isn’t an unfair business practice, someone should define what is. Modernizing the taxi ordinance also goes to the heart of the culture of social responsibility Des Moines needs to develop along with more entertainment options, new and interesting restaurants and clubs, and a renewed focus on quality-of-life issues.

On that recent Saturday night, downtown was full of life and oozing fun options. The following weekend brought more traffic snarls with the Hy-Vee Triathlon, a world-class event that did the city proud. Events like Winefest, the triathlon, the Des Moines Arts Festival later this month and others planned as the city comes of age make Des Moines more livable and attractive.

It’s good that business and government leaders are focusing on building edifices and creating events that people will leave their homes to attend and participate in, but they’ve forgotten the small details that make doing so easier and safer.

Updating the taxi ordinance is not a complete solution, but it’s a good start and less expensive than developing a light rail rapid transit system or even extending bus service hours. Maybe Central Iowans aren’t so much addicted to their automobiles as they are deprived of options.

Beth Dalbey is communications editor at Great Ape Trust of Iowa.