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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-10-2014 PH1 Proposed New Taxi CompanyCity of San Luis Obispo, Council Agenda Report, Meeting Date, Item Number FROM: Daryl Grigsby, Public Works Director Prepared By: Gamaliel Anguiano, Transit Manager SUBJECT: A RIDE AWAITS TAXI CAB COMPANY CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY RECOMMENDATION 1. Adopt a resolution declaring the need for the operation of four taxi operators in the City of San Luis Obispo; 2. Authorize the City Manager or her designee to process the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity; and 3. Approve five taxi permits to A Ride Awaits on a one-year trial basis. DISCUSSION Background Mr. Dan Indendi is the owner/operator of A Ride Awaits Taxicab Company (“A Ride Awaits”) based out of Paso Robles and currently serving the communities of San Margarita, Atascadero, Templeton, Paso Robles and San Miguel. On September 2, 2014, Mr. Indendi formally submitted his request to operate his taxi cab company in the City of San Luis Obispo. A Ride Awaits has transported over 3,500 passengers since its inception in October of 2013. Mr. Indendi wishes to expand his operation to the City of San Luis Obispo and is therefore requesting the right to operate five taxis within the City. The City has had varied experiences with existing taxi cab operators. Currently, 234 Taxi, Surf Cab and Yellow Cab are the three approved San Luis Obispo taxi cab providers. In total, there are thirty five permits issued amongst these three companies, thirty one of which are currently actively used. In order for A Ride Awaits to operate within the City, a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity would need to be approved by the City Council. Approval of this certificate would make A Ride Awaits the fourth taxi company providing services in the City. The total number of approved taxis would be 40. Table 1- Current City Taxi Operations Company Authorized Date In Use 234 Taxi LLC 10 7/21/2009 9 Surf Cab Co. 5 1/19/2010 5 Tri – Counties Yellow Cab Co. 20 9/21/2010 17 Municipal Code Pursuant of Section 5.20.060 of the City Municipal Code, the Council may award taxi permits to qualified applicants “if the council determines that the public convenience and the necessity requires additional service, it shall determine the number of taxicab permits which shall be 11/10/14 PH1 PH1 - 1 Taxi Cab Company Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Page 2 necessary to furnish such services. The Council may award such additional taxicab permits to existing holders of certificates of public convenience and necessity or to any new applicants who are qualified for issuance of certificates of public convenience and necessity.” 1. Section A: Demand for Additional Taxicab Service Staff has heard no comments directly in favor or against additional taxicab services being offered within the City. 2. Section B: Adequacy of Existing Mass Transit and Taxicab service Occasionally a request comes in for SLO Transit to operate later hours on the weekends. The costs associated with providing later hours services via fixed-route are currently cost prohibited. Additional taxicab service may be the most financially feasible way to provide the public alternative transportation options on late-nights. 3. Section C: Experience and Financial Responsibility In accordance with the information submitted by Mr. Dan Indendi, A Ride Awaits has been operating since October of 2013. Mr. Indendi’s prior experience as a business owner includes being the owner/operator of D&M Tractor Service, a General Engineering company from 2005 to 2009. A Ride Awaits currently operates in cities in northern San Luis Obispo County. However, these cities do not regulate taxicab companies like the City of San Luis Obispo, and therefore there are no governmental authorities for reference checks. Mr. Indendi did provide four hotels as references and they described A Ride Awaits as follows: • La Quinta – “Reliable, On-Time, Responsive and one of two taxi cab companies they use for their clients” • La Bella Serra – “On-Time and used regularly for their clients” • Adelaide Inn – “One of two taxi cab companies they use for their clients” • Summerwood Inn – (morning staff had no direct experience with them) Along with submitting references, Mr. Indendi also voluntarily filled out a brief questionnaire provided by staff. This questionnaire confirms that Mr. Indendi: • Has read and is familiar with Ordinance Chapter 5.20; • Understands the requirements set forth in Chapter 5.20; • Has minimum insurance coverage requirement as established by the City of SLO*; • Has drivers who are all licensed and screened to operate a taxi per State requirements*; • His company has not been in litigation; and • His company has not filed for bankruptcy. *Staff will verify upon conditional approval from Council. PH1 - 2 Taxi Cab Company Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Page 3 Mr. Indendi abstained from commenting on the following question: • Can you provide a Financial Statement upon request? It should be restated that Mr. Indendi voluntarily filled out the brief questionnaire provided by staff, whereby all questions asked were voluntary. The response(s) or omission(s) to a question does not in itself disqualify the applicant but rather is only part of Council’s broader consideration. 4. Section D: Fleet Mix and Color Scheme If approved by Council, A Ride Awaits proposes to immediately operate in the City with two vehicles, increasing to three vehicles in the next three to six months. The two immediately available vehicles include: a 2008 Chevrolet Uplander with a seating capacity for six (6) and a 2007 Dodge Caravan also with seating capacity for six (6). Pursuant Chapter 5.20.18 subsection C, “No persons shall imitate any color scheme, monogram or insignia used by any other holder of a certificate of public convenience and necessity which has been approved by the Director of Public Works.” A Ride Awaits taxis are white with teal green checkerboard and swirl side graphic. Logos are placed on both the driver and passenger side doors. On the rear of the vehicles is the company’s phone number (1-800-975-TAXI) in 4” font. With the exception of operating a mostly white vehicle (also used by 234 Taxi), this insignia is not used by any other taxi cab company operating in the City. 5. Section E: Effect of Additional Taxicab Service on Traffic Congestion Staff has no reason to believe there are any kind of negative impacts on congestion and parking associated with the addition of a taxicab service. On the contrary, taxicab services are generally viewed as a way to mitigate issues associated with limited parking because of the pick-up and drop-off nature of the service. 6. Rates Municipal Code Chapter 5.20.160 states in part “No rates shall be set, established, changed, modified or amended without a hearing before the Council.” A Ride Awaits proposed taxi fees, as they compare with the other taxi cab providers, are as follows: PH1 - 3 Taxi Cab Company Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Page 4 Table 2- Existing Taxi Rates Fee Type 234 Taxi LLC Surf Cab Co. Tri Counties - Yellow Cab Co. Proposed A Ride Awaits Pick-up Flag drop $4.00 $4.00 $3.00 $3.50 Pick up Cash Discount None None None None Per Mile $3.50 $3.50 $3.50 $3.50 *Wait time per/Hr $35.00 $35.00 $30.00 $30.00 Credit Card Use None None None None Minimum Charge None None None None A Ride Awaits proposed rates appear to be consistent and in-line with the current rates approved by Council for the other taxicab companies. CONCURRENCES • Mass Transit Advisory Committee had no concerns with A Ride Awaits proceeding with City Council’s review (discussed at September 10, 2014 MTC meeting). • Parking & Access Committee of the Downtown Association informally supports an additional taxi cab company operating within the city limits of San Luis Obispo (discussed at September 10, 2014 Parking & Access Committee meeting). FISCAL IMPACT The monitoring of taxi cab companies falls under purview of the Transit Division. Staff, specifically the Transit Assistant, maintains regular communication and records associated with monitoring taxi cab companies. These activities have no impact on the General Fund and are accounted and budgeted for in the Transit Enterprise fund. Although it should also be noted that the amount of time associated with monitoring taxi cab companies has increased over the last several years. ALTERNATIVES 1. Deny the application for the proposed A Ride Awaits taxi cab company to operate within the city limits of San Luis Obispo. 2. Approve the application but limit the number of taxi permits issued to A Ride Awaits from five (5) to a different amount. 3. Approve the application but set a different fee structure to a different amount. ATTACHMENTS 1. Attachment 1 - Authorizing Resolution 2. Attachment 2 - Picture of A Ride Awaits Taxi 3. Attachment 3 – Response Letter from 234 Taxi 4. Attachment 4 - A Ride Awaits Letter to Council T:\Council Agenda Reports\2014\2014-11-10 (Rescheduled Reg Mtg)\New Taxi Company (Grigsby-Anguiano) PH1 - 4 Attachment 1 1 RESOLUTION NO. _______________ (2014 Series) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING AN ADDITIONAL TAXICAB SERVICE WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo desires to provide for taxi service for its citizens; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo conducted a public hearing in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California, on November 10, 2014, for the purpose of considering an application from “A Ride Awaits” to operate taxi service in the City; WHEREAS, in accordance with the provisions of San Luis Obispo Municipal Code Chapter 5.20, the City has evaluated the demand for additional taxi operators in the City; and WHEREAS, the City has determined there is a need for an additional taxi operator in the City on a one year trial basis; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows/or that: SECTION 1. Findings. The City Council finds there is a need for additional taxi operations in the City of San Luis Obispo and have approved the proposed rates by “A Ride Awaits”. SECTION 2. Action. The City Manager or their designee is hereby authorized to grant a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and Taxi Permit to “A Ride Awaits” on a one year trial basis. The City Council directs the City Manager or their designee to review the permit application of “A Ride Awaits” after the 12 month trial basis in order to determine if the operator has met all obligations of the permit for said purposes. If the applicant has adhered to all requirements of the permit the City Manager or their designee is authorized to make the trial permit permanent subject to annual permitting reviews and inspections. Upon motion of _______________________, seconded by _______________________, and on the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: The foregoing resolution was adopted this _____ day of _____________________ 2014. PH1 - 5 Resolution No. _______________ (2014 Series) Page 2 2 ____________________________________ Mayor Jan Marx ATTEST: ____________________________________ Anthony J. Mejia, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: _____________________________________ Christine Dietrick, City Attorney PH1 - 6 PH1 - 7 1 Goodwin, Heather From:Taxi234Dispatch <taxi234dispatch@yahoo.com> Sent:Friday, October 17, 2014 8:04 AM To:Anguiano, Gamaliel Subject:Expanding Transportation Options in SLO October 7, 2014 Gamaliel Anguiano, Transit Manager City of San Luis Obispo 919 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3218 Subject: Request for Permit to Operate Taxi Service; A Ride Awaits Attention: Gamaliel Anguiano, Transit Manager, Thank you for your September 30, 2014 letter, pursuant to the Municipal Code Chapter 5.20.050 notifying taxicab operators in San Luis Obispo of the request by A Ride Awaits for permission to operate within the city limits. As an industry professional operating 234-Taxi in the City of San Luis Obispo, we welcome competition for service to the residents of the City. In that regard, we have expended significant resources to maintain the quality of our personnel and fleet, as well as our compliance with the regulations promulgated by the City to regulate this important transportation option for its residents. We have a practice to differentiate our vehicles and identify them to our customers at dispatch as “the white cab”. Our competitors have similarly marked their rolling stock with individual color schemes (Surf Cab is blue and Yellow Cab is yellow) that are individual in order to comply with Chapter 5.20.180.C of the Municipal Code. In your letter you have asked for comments by operators for the City Council Members to consider at the November 10, 2014 public hearing. We ask that staff highlight this code section which precludes each operator from imitating any color scheme, monogram or insignia in use by other holders of certificates of public convenience and necessity already approved by the City, and to assure for the policy makers that no violation of same will occur as a result of granting a new permit. We continue to be satisfied with the partnership we maintain with the City of San Luis Obispo; welcome you as the new Transit Manager; and look forward to meeting you in the near future. Thank you for all your work on behalf of the transportation system operators in San Luis Obispo. If you have questions or need more information, please give us a call or email. Sincerely, Leland Simpson Owner, 234-Taxi Attachment 3 PH1 - 8 Attachment 4 PH1 - 9 Attachment 4 PH1 - 10 Attachment 4 PH1 - 11 Attachment 4 PH1 - 12 Attachment 4 PH1 - 13 Attachment 4 PH1 - 14 Attachment 4 PH1 - 15 Attachment 4 PH1 - 16