CITY HALL — After years in the works, the City Council is set to take a step toward greatly limiting the number of taxi cabs allowed to operate in Santa Monica.
The proposal, which tonight comes before the council for preliminary approval, would replace the open entry taxi cab system with a franchise model under which a maximum of 250 cabs would be allowed to pick up fares in Santa Monica, down from the 463 cabs currently licensed by City Hall.
The situation has long been a source of complaints from residents and even some cab operators, who said an over abundance of taxis in town was making it difficult to get by. Environmentalists have also urged the council to reign in the number of cabs. The city’s Task Force on the Environment back in 2006 recommended moving to a franchise system where only companies whose fleets met emission and mileage standards would be awarded permits.
The City Council directed staff to begin working on the overhaul in early 2009, with franchise applicants evaluated based on a range of criteria including financial viability, experience, vehicle quality and sustainability. Locally-based companies also received preference.
While officials hope they’re close to the finish line, there’s still some controversy over how the system will be implemented.
City Hall has recommended awarding the franchises to five companies — two of them based in Santa Monica — but the council will wait to make its final decision until Nov. 9.
Craig Smedman, vice president and general manager of Euro Taxi, which was left off the list of recommended companies, in June told the Daily Press he would ask the council to reject the staff recommendation.
As a Santa Monica-based cab company that operates exclusively in the city, he said his Euro Taxi would be forced out of business if the recommendation is adopted.
“It's unbelievable that they would choose L.A.-based taxi companies over an experienced, quality local company such as Euro,” he said.
Don Patterson, the City Hall administrator who oversaw the selection process, said the five best proposals out of 13 applications received the committee’s recommendation.
“This is the culmination of several years of work that has involved numerous public meetings and lots of input from various stakeholders,” he said.
The new system, he said, is aimed at improving cab service for customers, which he said is inconsistent under the open entry system, while bringing Santa Monica’s cab regulatory framework in-line with neighboring cities.
“The number of cabs in Santa Monica has widely been recognized as being unsustainable. Just the number of taxis per person in Santa Monica far exceeds any other city,” he said.
City Councilman Richard Bloom, a supporter of the overhaul plan, said he’s “still in the listening phase” and is continuing to consider details of how the franchise system should be organized.
“I think that staff put a lot of time into this and we need to take their recommendation seriously,” he added.
nickt@www.smdp.com
