West Hollywood city officials are asking people to avoid getting into illegal taxicabs because the drivers haven’t paid for the proper permits and are unregulated. Meanwhile, taxi drivers who are legitimate and pay the fees are upset that no real enforcement is in place to catch or run out the “bandit taxis.”
Taxis must have a special permit to operate in West Hollywood, and officials are concerned about an influx of unlicensed cabs. (photo by Anna Bakalis)
Lt. David Smith with the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department said they are aware of the problem with illegal taxis, “but it’s more of a city code enforcement issue.”
Jackie Rocco, a parking manager with the City of West Hollywood, said there was a joint enforcement effort one night a few weeks ago, where the city worked with the police. It netted a few citations and arrests.
But the city can only do so much, she said.
“Only a police officer can arrest someone and impound a car,” Rocco said.
There are seven cab companies that are franchised with the city, and 520 taxis are allowed to operate in West Hollywood. Cab companies pay an annual fee of $1,215 for each car in their fleet.
These are the taxis that respond to service calls from dispatch or park in certain areas, like in front of hotels in the Sunset Strip area.
Then there is the shadow fleet that can look similar in make, model and colors, and could even have fake permits. They tend to show up later at night, when bars are closing. They pick up people who might be waiting for a cab from one of the legitimate companies.
While Rocco said bandit cabs are everywhere, there isn’t an estimate on how many sneak in under the radar and operate in the city. In Los Angeles, it is estimated there are about 2,000 illegal cabs.
Permitted cab drivers are directly affected by bandit cabs and are losing business to the illegal cabs who, some cab drivers have said, number in the fifties on a Friday or Saturday night.
“It’s a mess over here, said Eddie, a cab driver who declined to give his last name, for fear of retribution. “And no one wants to do anything about it.”
While the City of Los Angeles has a task force and the Los Angeles Board of Taxicab Commissioners, the Department of Transportation, West Hollywood does not have a similar agency.
Vlad, another cab driver who withheld his last name, said he is fed up trying to get the authorities to do anything.
“We pay all this money for the city, and we get short changed,” Vlad said.
West Hollywood has franchise agreements with seven companies — Bell Cab Company, Beverly Hills Cab Company, Checker Cab Company, City Cab, Independent Cab Company, United Independent Cab Company and Yellow Cab.
For more information on franchised taxi companies, visit www.weho.org
3 Comments
The answer to the bandit problem in the Los Angeles area is better treatment of drivers and provide accurate information to taxi passenger. The companies and the cities don’t won’t to solve the problem. Be it L.A or West Hollywood. The ones that I have spoken to say “it is not that simple.” They are aware of the effort but unwilling to take a serious look for a workable solution. On the blog a call for Old Fashion Taxi Services dissects the problem and provides a possible solution. Please take a look see. I noticed the people at weho did not mention the site. I wonder why.
When a legal cabbie charges $55.00 to go to downtown LA or $75.00 to Pasadena because he “takes the horn” they should not complain about bandits. Who’s doing what to whom? If they would improve their services by providing accurate information to customers and treat them better the bandits would be a problem. It is just that simple.
I will *try* to take cabs that are licensed to WeHo when I’m there, but I gotta tell you – sometimes I can’t find a cab for huge chunks of time, or I’m nowhere near a so-called “cab stand” (generally there’s no such thing anywhere near) when I need one – or I can’t get a cab to stop. So I gotta tell you – I’m gonna take whatever cab will pick me up so I’ll be on time for a meeting or appt.
I pay enough for a cab that i’ts gotta do what I need it to do – get me there on time. Having to contend with unpredictable L.A. traffic is bad enough – but sometimes waiting an additional half hour to see the “right” kind of cab is just not possible.
Gee…how come there is no bandit cabs roaming the streets of Beverly Hills or the City of Culver City or the City of Santa Monica? There is no bandit cabs picking up at the City of Burbank or the City of Pasadena! Why is it? Because taxicabs in those cities regulated by the Police Departments who will not tolerate a presence of unlicensed cabs in their cities and actively enforce it as well. If LAPD and LASD will take it over from worthless DOT’s the bandit problem will be solved in 1 week!