COEUR d'ALENE - The city is considering tighter licensing requirements for taxi drivers to better police unlicensed cabs from stealing customers from companies who play by the rules.

"We've had a lot of abuses," said Kathy Lewis, deputy city clerk, on the taxi war problem that came to the city's attention during the summer.

Coeur d'Alene is proposing to require cabs to hang an annual decal to assist officers and patrons to determine whether it's a legal operator. The city wants to make them install a company name on the side of the vehicle. It also wants to be notified should cabbies cancel their commercial insurance.

Some cabs had obtained insurance before getting licensed, then dropped it soon after while still operating, Lewis said.

The proposals are in response to complaints City Hall has received that unlicensed and out-of-town companies are swooping in on weekend nights and lifting customers from the licensed cabs, who the waiting customer actually called.

"I feel it's out of hand," said Cindy Olson, owner of Taxi by Hall. "I try to stay clear of downtown these days."

She noticed the problem after people who called for a ride weren't at the pick-up spot, but called her the next day to ask if they left something in the cab the night before.

Some of the reported illegal 'cabs' are unmarked, so patrons don't know the difference. Complaints have included overcharging for rides.

One 26-year-old Coeur d'Alene woman, who didn't want to be named, said she recently hopped a cab ride from downtown to Hanley Avenue.

The cab company, which she didn't recognize, charged double the normal $8 fare.

"I refused at first, but ended up paying him the full price after a few words were exchanged," she e-mailed The Press. "It's a shame that local legitimate drivers are losing business to unprofessional, stingy and unlicensed cab drivers from out of the area."

Currently, 12 licensed companies operate in Coeur d'Alene, Lewis said.

Downtown on weekends, with its clustered bar scene, can be a good way to earn money for cab drivers, or in some cases it turns out, anyone who owns a car. Patrons don't seem too picky in which car they jump, some cab drivers said.

"Intoxicated people have a tendency to want to give up their money," Olson said.

Some cabs also aren't adhering to the pick-up and drop-off zones downtown implemented at the beginning of the year.

To relieve "pressure zones" - basically lessening congestion in front of bars to prevent fights - the city implemented a taxi stand on the east side of Fourth Street from Front Avenue to Sherman Avenue from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. every night.

No Pick up and Drop off zones were marked on four other downtown areas in front of bars for the same reason, but suspected unmarked cabs weren't following it, so other cab companies didn't either, said Scott Dimberg of Scott's Taxi.

It's too impractical to tell drinkers to walk a few blocks to get their ride. It's also not good customer service.

"Anyone you're talking to at 2 or 2:30 in the morning when they're obliterated, when they're drunk, they're not going to do it," he said of telling cab callers to walk to Fourth Street.

He didn't favor it when the city designated the taxi stand, and doesn't now.

The inconvenience for intoxicated people could increase drunken driving, he said

Officials said this week that the taxi stand isn't working. It could be changed.

"It was a test," councilman Mike Kennedy said of the designated area ordinance. "Sometimes tests don't work the way you want them to."

The rules are up for consideration at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the City Council meeting in the public library.