Hermosa to Rally Cabs in New System

Hermosa Avenue’s taxicab area soon will see some changes, according to the City Council.

In an effort to reduce late-night congestion in downtown Hermosa Beach and DUI risks, the council unanimously has decided to amend its taxicab franchise agreement and kick off a new "cab starter" program on Dec. 31.

A "cab starter" would organize and direct taxicabs picking up patrons in a designated area, similar to the taxicab stand systems at LAX.

The council also agreed to authorize the development of a special staging area for cabs downtown, as well as direct staffers to work on a strategy for targeting unlicensed "bandit" taxicab drivers.

Police Chief Greg Savelli proposed the "cab starter" program to operate along Hermosa Avenue on Friday and Saturday nights as well as major holidays (see accompanying city staff report under photo.)

The proposal also included an amendment to the city’s taxicab franchise, requesting 40 more cabs to operate in Hermosa Beach. The council agreed to possibly revisit the idea in about six months following the launch of the "cab starter" program.

In an last year, former nightlife columnist Danielle Lenglet pointed out that, under current operations, hailing cabs downtown gets chaotic.

"Taxi lines that form along Hermosa Avenue can yield a 30 to 40-minute wait on weekend nights. In addition, the confusion of where lines start and end can frustrate, especially when you've been waiting longer than the line-cutters who beat you to hailing down a cab," she wrote from personal experience.

As the council in its meeting considered whether more cabs could address some of downtown’s problems, about five taxicab drivers spoke in opposition.

The drivers all argued that more cabs would congest the area and hurt their existing business, which, as a result, would leave their families in more financial distress during these tough economic times.

"This is a pure issue of not voting to take away, literally, the food, the rent, any quality of life for these taxi drivers," said David Shapiro, founder of United Independent Taxi, during the council meeting.

All Yellow Taxi, Bell Cab, South Bay Yellow Cab, and United Independent Taxi are the taxicab companies licensed to pick up passengers in Hermosa Beach.

The city would generate an additional $44,000 in revenue if i10 more taxicabs from each company operated in town, according to Savelli’s proposal. The cost of the "cab starter" would be borne by the cab companies.

"On one hand if we don’t have enough cabs we get too many DUIs. If we have a lot of cabs, we have too many cabs running around and somebody can’t make a living out of it," said Hermosa Beach resident and activist Jim Lissner during the council meeting. "I think a solution would be the 'cab starter' [and] finding a place to put all the cabs so there’s no more than a couple cabs visible down on the street."

Other residents agreed.

"The staging area may be a very good idea. I think adding this many cabs is absolutely insane. We’re not LAX, we’re a small town," said Hermosa Beach resident Anne Sullivan during the council meeting.

Mayor Howard Fishman said he liked the idea of the "cab starter," but agreed that the thought of having more permitted taxicabs driving through Hermosa Beach was "a little scary."

As the council took its vote, Councilman Kit Bobko pointed out that if additional taxicabs were a suggested solution to problems downtown, it might be worth exploring.

"This is a very responsive market, and I don’t believe we’re going to have 40 cabs, parked and waiting. These guys are going to go where they’ll make money," he said.

The city’s taxicab franchise agreement is set to expire May 31.

Do you think Hermosa Beach needs more taxicabs downtown on late weekend nights and holidays?