Transportation Commission Asks One More Year for Hail-a-Taxi to Take

By Eric Richardson
Published: Wednesday, January 28, 2009, at 08:05AM

Ed Fuentes [Flickr]

Downtown Center BID's Hal Bastian, one of the main organizers behind the Hail-a-Taxi effort, boards a cab during the program's July 31 kickoff.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Six months into the Hail-a-Taxi program, there's been a "relatively modest" increase in the number of passengers hailing cabs, but that's enough for the city's Transportation Commission to recommend a one-year extension to the pilot program that hopes to create a "street hail" culture in Los Angeles.

Hail-a-Taxi kicked off on July 31, allowing cabs in Downtown and Hollywood to pick up and drop off fares without risking tickets for not being in a legal parking spot. The effort, which had been pushed by business advocates since 2005, required an agreement between LADOT and LAPD on how to not enforce state law against stopping in no stopping zones. That's long been accepted for cabs in cities like San Francisco and San Diego, but was a tough sell in Los Angeles.

Even once the program was in place, organizers faced a chicken-and-egg situation: people won't go looking for cabs if the taxis aren't circling, but the cabbies don't want to spend the gas if fares aren't out there looking for them.

On the positive side, no one's yet complaining about the impact of stopped cabs on traffic. An attached LADOT report says that the "Department's Parking Enforcement Bureau has reported that there has not been any noticeable increase in traffic congestion, hazards or citations issued to taxi drivers resulting from the program."

In December, Downtown Center BID and L.A. Live organized a free lunch and informational event for cabbies, trying to increase awareness and jumpstart the program. The event coincided with temporary signs that went up around Downtown advertising the program.

The Transportation Commission approved the one year extension on January 15, and the council's Transportation committee will hear the item this afternoon before it heads on to full council.

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Hail-a-Taxi

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Comments

JM writes:

I think this will pay off in the long-term. Relieved there's an extension...

# on Jan.28.2009 AT 09:37 AM

Shelley Noble writes:

Looking good, Hal!

# on Jan.28.2009 AT 01:30 PM

djm writes:

what happens when the program ends? No more hailing a taxi? I dont see the sense in ending the program. If people arent hailing a taxi, why disallow those who might want to?

# on Jan.28.2009 AT 02:33 PM

Neel Sodha writes:

Why not keep it permanent in downtown and Hollywood? Then, extend the program to the rest of LA.

# on Jan.28.2009 AT 03:44 PM

David Kennedy writes:

It would be better if actual data were released so the "relatively modest increase" could be evaluated. If the impact is so modest, how do we know it is even related to the program? Quite possibly, the modest increase is seasonal or a normal variation without statistical meaning.

I am puzzled by the temporary nature of the program. Why does the DOT need to evaluate this? Why an extension for one year? Undoubtedly, the recession is going to impact business for cabs. This seems like excessive micro-management busy work to keep the DOT guys busy.

At times, it seems incredibly quaint how rudimentary aspects of urban life (like hailing a cab) are controversial to the citizens of Los Angeles. Let people hail cabs and be done with it.

If we want to encourage this activity (which I think we should), change the incentives for cab drivers. If they can make money, their behavior will change. Simply changing the rules (i.e. allowing cabs to cruise) and marketing these rule changes seems ineffective. I'd also hasten to add, actual experience appears to bear this out. Simply pushing harder in the face of failure, looks to be a recipe for continued failure. Again, the point seems to be more about keeping the city's mandarians busy rather than changing the situation for the better. I hope I'm wrong.

# on Jan.28.2009 AT 03:45 PM

Eric Richardson writes:

LADOT is doing a survey right now to try and quantify any increase in hails. The pilot nature of the program is based on the fact that it involves rules governing how to not enforce certain laws about no stopping zones. They want to make sure they understand the implications of that.

# on Jan.28.2009 AT 04:19 PM

D writes:

As #5 said, why evaluate the program. just let it be. People will use it or they wont, either way, the rules shouldn't go back to what it was before. Jesus, why are we so backwards in this city sometimes?

# on Jan.28.2009 AT 07:33 PM

Greg writes:

We're running out of time.

# on Jan.29.2009 AT 03:34 AM

Bert Green writes:

Even if hails do not increase in the short term there is no reason to go back to the old policy of prohibiting taxis from stopping anywhere they need to to pick up a fare. That should be made permanent anyway, because it is a stupid policy to prohibit it.

It takes time to change the transportation culture, and it does not help if the public is told that the city might just reverse the gains made in the past year.

On the ground, I see far more taxis cruising than I did in the past, and last week I hailed three of them. Give it a chance to work.

# on Jan.29.2009 AT 10:08 AM

J B writes:

Gas is too expensive for trials either the customer has the right to hail and the cabbie has the right to pick up. What happens when the trial is over? Does the the cabbie get a ticket for stopping? Who will pay the ticket when the cabbie gets one? The cabbie is an independent contractor who is at the mercy of the city... Just one Cab Driver's opinion.. thanks,

# on Jun.16.2009 AT 02:07 PM