The "regulation overhaul in 1994" had much to do with weeding out cab drivers and replacing them with people who happened to drive cab. Col. Llewellyn, Mystrom's TI, went around bragging that this was why he was hired for the job (he also lied and told people his military background was in intelligence, when in fact it was logistics). Pat Abney left a lengthy comment in response to a prior story which confirmed what many of us knew all along, that this was motivated by fears of what tourists would think of seeing so many bikers and hippies driving cab. Because one of those folks who happened to drive cab was prowling around on Fourth Avenue one day despite having no business being anywhere but the airport, a recidivist named Kevin Phillips hired his cab with specific intent to steal it, which happened and further led to the death of state trooper Bruce Heck. I rather doubt that Abney and Llewellyn and others responsible for those changes believe that Heck's blood is on their hands.