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Santa Monica Daily Press, CA
Nov 11 2010
City Council approves taxi franchises
Move drastically reduces number of cabs on Santa Monica streets
By Kevin Herrera
November 11, 2010
CITY HALL - In a move that will dramatically reduce the number of cabs
on Santa Monica streets, the City Council Tuesday awarded five taxi
franchises and put a cap on the total number of cabs operating within
the city at 250.
The council also unanimously approved a fare structure with maximums
set for trips to regional airports. Cab companies will still be able
to offer discounts or special deals, something which Mayor Bobby
Shriver lobbied hard for and was accepted by his colleagues as a way
for cab companies to differentiate themselves and compete in the new,
closed market.
Those who received a franchise are: Bell Cab Co., Independent Taxi,
Metro Cab Co., Taxi Taxi and Yellow Cab Co. Metro and Taxi Taxi are
based in Santa Monica.
Cab operators were selected by a City Hall committee with preference
given to those companies that had the financial capability, business
plan and experience to provide quality service, said Don Patterson,
who oversaw the selection process for City Hall.
The new franchise structure, which must be finalized by a second
reading by the council, is expected to take effect Jan. 3, 2011 with
cab companies given six months to meet requirements to operate a
certain number of ultra-low and super-ultra-low emission vehicles.
Cab companies not awarded a franchise will no longer be able to pick
up passengers in Santa Monica after that date.
advertisement
"We are pleased our successful business model has been approved by the
city," said Ayman Radwan of Taxi Taxi. "We are extremely happy that we
will be able to continue serving our community."
The proposal for a franchise structure came after the Task Force on
the Environment in 2006 recommended the development of an ordinance
that creates a franchise system awarding licenses to companies whose
cars meet certain emission and mileage standards. A study by
Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates followed two years later, finding
that at the time, there were 412 cars operated by 55 companies in the
city.
That number grew to 522 permitted cabs, all for a city that has about
91,000 residents.
City officials felt the number of cabs was too high, creating gridlock
Downtown while contributing to global warming. They were also
concerned that drivers were not able to make a living wage because of
too much competition. Some drivers were said to be making only $24,000
annually for working six days a week.
Dozens of cab company operators and drivers fearful of losing their
jobs crammed into the City Council Chambers Tuesday, pleading with
elected officials to start the franchise selection process over,
alleging it was flawed and lacked transparency.
Groups representing Armenian-Americans said the process discriminated
against cab companies owned by Armenians. Others called on the council
to give more weight to local companies as opposed to those based in
Los Angeles with multiple franchise licenses, increasing the
likelihood that drivers from these companies will spend more time
outside Santa Monica, leaving residents and visitors without enough
cabs to get them around town. Many operators pleaded with the council
to allow more cab companies to operate within Santa Monica. As part of
the agreement, cab companies are required to have 50 cabs in service
at all times.
"We're still in shock," Vrej Alvandian, president of Beverly Hills Cab
Co. said following the council's vote. "We thought the council was
going to throw out the staff's recommendation and start over. ... I
can't believe it."
While the council did not want to increase the number of franchises
awarded, it did increase the total number of cabs allowed to operate
in the city.
Initially city staff proposed a cap on cabs of 250, with each of the
five franchises operating 50. However, after considerable debate the
council directed city staff to come back in the next few weeks with a
new cap of 300, awarding each of the five franchises 10 more cabs for
a total of 60 each, but city officials said the extra cabs would be
optional.
That was in large part a response to Taxi Taxi's plea to be allowed to
operate more than 50 cabs given that it currently has a fleet of over
60 and would therefore have to layoff drivers. While Taxi Taxi
currently has more cabs than will be allowed, the other four who won
franchises will have to bring up the number of cabs they operate to
comply with the new rules.
"I don't think it's fair to downsize a company that's been working so
hard to grow in a sustainable way," said Wendy Radwan of Taxi Taxi.
Councilmembers Terry O'Day and Gleam Davis agreed with Radwan.
"I applaud the desire for equity, but the price of this equity feels
too high for me," Davis said of doling out 50 cabs for each franchise.
"It doesn't feel like equity to me to tell one company to reduce
one-sixth of its business and tell others they get to increase their
business."
"To be the only company to have to cut its current level out of those
recommended, and to be a local company, that gives me pause," O'Day
said.
Councilmembers were also not pleased with city staff's recommendation
to set the senior/disabled fare discount at 10 percent, and called on
city staff to identify other financing options to increase that
discount.
Councilman Richard Bloom said the council's decision was difficult,
knowing that some cab drivers would be laid off and companies forced
to close. However, the need for a better system outweighed that
concern.
"It was a given, by the very nature of what we did here tonight, that
this would be disappointing to a large number of taxi operators
currently serving the public because we decided at the outset that we
had too many taxis in the city and had to reduce the fleet," Bloom
said. "At the same time we want to build up the standard of living for
those working in this trade. There was a trade off. There are winners
in this process and there are losers."
Bloom, who met with represenatives of the cab companies, said
complaints that the process was not fair or that there was
discrimination in selection were unfounded. He said city staff could
have provided more information during the course of the process, "but
no matter what staff would have done there would have been
controversy.
"This is a very positive step and an important one for our city."
http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c-2010-11-10-70716.113116-City-Council-approves-taxi-franchises.html
From: A. Papazian
Nov 11 2010
City Council approves taxi franchises
Move drastically reduces number of cabs on Santa Monica streets
By Kevin Herrera
November 11, 2010
CITY HALL - In a move that will dramatically reduce the number of cabs
on Santa Monica streets, the City Council Tuesday awarded five taxi
franchises and put a cap on the total number of cabs operating within
the city at 250.
The council also unanimously approved a fare structure with maximums
set for trips to regional airports. Cab companies will still be able
to offer discounts or special deals, something which Mayor Bobby
Shriver lobbied hard for and was accepted by his colleagues as a way
for cab companies to differentiate themselves and compete in the new,
closed market.
Those who received a franchise are: Bell Cab Co., Independent Taxi,
Metro Cab Co., Taxi Taxi and Yellow Cab Co. Metro and Taxi Taxi are
based in Santa Monica.
Cab operators were selected by a City Hall committee with preference
given to those companies that had the financial capability, business
plan and experience to provide quality service, said Don Patterson,
who oversaw the selection process for City Hall.
The new franchise structure, which must be finalized by a second
reading by the council, is expected to take effect Jan. 3, 2011 with
cab companies given six months to meet requirements to operate a
certain number of ultra-low and super-ultra-low emission vehicles.
Cab companies not awarded a franchise will no longer be able to pick
up passengers in Santa Monica after that date.
advertisement
"We are pleased our successful business model has been approved by the
city," said Ayman Radwan of Taxi Taxi. "We are extremely happy that we
will be able to continue serving our community."
The proposal for a franchise structure came after the Task Force on
the Environment in 2006 recommended the development of an ordinance
that creates a franchise system awarding licenses to companies whose
cars meet certain emission and mileage standards. A study by
Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates followed two years later, finding
that at the time, there were 412 cars operated by 55 companies in the
city.
That number grew to 522 permitted cabs, all for a city that has about
91,000 residents.
City officials felt the number of cabs was too high, creating gridlock
Downtown while contributing to global warming. They were also
concerned that drivers were not able to make a living wage because of
too much competition. Some drivers were said to be making only $24,000
annually for working six days a week.
Dozens of cab company operators and drivers fearful of losing their
jobs crammed into the City Council Chambers Tuesday, pleading with
elected officials to start the franchise selection process over,
alleging it was flawed and lacked transparency.
Groups representing Armenian-Americans said the process discriminated
against cab companies owned by Armenians. Others called on the council
to give more weight to local companies as opposed to those based in
Los Angeles with multiple franchise licenses, increasing the
likelihood that drivers from these companies will spend more time
outside Santa Monica, leaving residents and visitors without enough
cabs to get them around town. Many operators pleaded with the council
to allow more cab companies to operate within Santa Monica. As part of
the agreement, cab companies are required to have 50 cabs in service
at all times.
"We're still in shock," Vrej Alvandian, president of Beverly Hills Cab
Co. said following the council's vote. "We thought the council was
going to throw out the staff's recommendation and start over. ... I
can't believe it."
While the council did not want to increase the number of franchises
awarded, it did increase the total number of cabs allowed to operate
in the city.
Initially city staff proposed a cap on cabs of 250, with each of the
five franchises operating 50. However, after considerable debate the
council directed city staff to come back in the next few weeks with a
new cap of 300, awarding each of the five franchises 10 more cabs for
a total of 60 each, but city officials said the extra cabs would be
optional.
That was in large part a response to Taxi Taxi's plea to be allowed to
operate more than 50 cabs given that it currently has a fleet of over
60 and would therefore have to layoff drivers. While Taxi Taxi
currently has more cabs than will be allowed, the other four who won
franchises will have to bring up the number of cabs they operate to
comply with the new rules.
"I don't think it's fair to downsize a company that's been working so
hard to grow in a sustainable way," said Wendy Radwan of Taxi Taxi.
Councilmembers Terry O'Day and Gleam Davis agreed with Radwan.
"I applaud the desire for equity, but the price of this equity feels
too high for me," Davis said of doling out 50 cabs for each franchise.
"It doesn't feel like equity to me to tell one company to reduce
one-sixth of its business and tell others they get to increase their
business."
"To be the only company to have to cut its current level out of those
recommended, and to be a local company, that gives me pause," O'Day
said.
Councilmembers were also not pleased with city staff's recommendation
to set the senior/disabled fare discount at 10 percent, and called on
city staff to identify other financing options to increase that
discount.
Councilman Richard Bloom said the council's decision was difficult,
knowing that some cab drivers would be laid off and companies forced
to close. However, the need for a better system outweighed that
concern.
"It was a given, by the very nature of what we did here tonight, that
this would be disappointing to a large number of taxi operators
currently serving the public because we decided at the outset that we
had too many taxis in the city and had to reduce the fleet," Bloom
said. "At the same time we want to build up the standard of living for
those working in this trade. There was a trade off. There are winners
in this process and there are losers."
Bloom, who met with represenatives of the cab companies, said
complaints that the process was not fair or that there was
discrimination in selection were unfounded. He said city staff could
have provided more information during the course of the process, "but
no matter what staff would have done there would have been
controversy.
"This is a very positive step and an important one for our city."
http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c-2010-11-10-70716.113116-City-Council-approves-taxi-franchises.html
From: A. Papazian