TITLE
Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record; conclude the hearing; find and determine that the rate proposed is just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory, and not in violation of the Long Beach Municipal Code or any provision or law; and authorize City Manager to amend the permit with Long Beach Yellow Cab Cooperative, Inc., to authorize and establish new rates for taxicab service at $2.20 per flag drop, $2.20 per mile, and $24.00 per hour waiting time. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) requires a hearing be held before the City Council prior to the authorization of any rate or fare change for taxicab service. The LBMC also requires that the City Council make the determination that the rate be just, reasonable and
nondiscriminatory, and not in violation of the provisions of the LBMC or any other provision or law.
Attached for your review is the request of Long Beach Yellow Cab Cooperative, Inc. (Long Beach Yellow Cab), for a rate increase. In subsequent paragraphs the results of the City staff analysis are provided. Taxicab rates were last changed in 2001, and in 1996 prior to that.
Since the rate increase of October 2001 , the Consumer Price Index for Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County had increased by 12.5 percent and the cost of operating a taxicab in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area had increased by 9.5 percent by October 2004, which was prior to the latest gasoline price increases. The increase proposed by Long Beach Yellow Cab is approximately 10 percent, but varies slightly depending on the distance of the trip. City staff contacted neighboring jurisdictions and found that they had recently increased taxicab
service rates and/or are in the process of increasing rates during the July to September 2005 timeframe. Although other costs of operating a taxicab have increased (see attached request from Long Beach Yellow Cab), the recent increase in the cost of gasoline is the driving factor in
the rate increases of surrounding jurisdictions. The Orange County Taxicab Administration Program (OCTAP), which establishes rates for most Orange County cities, has a rate increase proposal under current review. The City of Los Angeles also has a proposed rate increase
under review. The Los Angeles proposal is very similar to that of Long Beach Yellow Cab. The South Bay cities and other small cities surrounding Los Angeles usually change their taxicab rates to match those of Los Angeles. Both current and proposed Long Beach rates are compared to other California cities in the following table. The costs of a 2-mile trip (shopping trip), a 5-mile trip (trip to Long Beach Airport), and a 20-mile trip (trip to Los Angeles or Orange County airports) have been computed and compared.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
[Timing Considerations]
FISCAL IMPACT
[Fiscal Impact]
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
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Respectfully Submitted,
[Respectfully Submitted,]