2.4.2 EL CONTEXTO DE LA EVALUACION SOCIAL

Jurisdiction served: San Diego proper plus six cities in the county: El Cajon, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Poway, and Santee, as well as unincorporated areas within the county

Name of regulator: The Taxicab Administration, a unit of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS)within the San Diego Association of Governments

Population: 2011 estimate (US Census Bureau):

1,326,179 (city)

1,779,000 (taxi admin jurisdiction, including unincorporated area) 3,140,069 (county)

Taxi fleet (by type)—official count: 1,051 taxicabs among 454 permit holders (2012), 992 of which serve San Diego City (closed entry)

59 suburban permits (open entry)

225 taxicabs may serve the airport on any given day

Number of limousines: 886 (operating at the airport 2012)

Taxis per 10,000 population: 7.4 (for city population)

5.9 (for population within SDMTS jurisdiction)

Drivers: 4,000

Vehicles per household in San Diego County(2010 American Community Survey):

1.8

Proportion of households with no vehicles

(2010 American Community Survey): 7.30%

Plate Transferability: Yes, with the approval of the CEO of SDMTS

(for newer medallions, only after 5 years from issue date, but all current medallions are at least 5 years old).

Market value of plates/medallions: $100,000 (2009)84

Medallion/taxi license lease value: $865/ week (non official)85

Meter Rate (5 miles—drop and distance only):

(2012) Maximum: $19.60

(2011) Maximum: $19.00, Average $16.00

Taxicab Administration budget:

(2012): $835,047

(2013): $840,185

Taxicab Administration full time staff:

(2012): 10

(2013): 10

Taxis, along with jitneys, charters, low speed, and nonemergency medical vehicles are regulated by the Taxicab Administration of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS). The administration has jurisdiction over the seven cities in the county with which it has contractual agreements, namely San Diego itself and six mainly eastern suburbs: El Cajon, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Poway, and through June 30, 2013,Santee, as well as the county’s unincorporated area. The transit authority’s Ordinance 11 specifies the regulatory requirements.86 Although the San Diego’s airport (Lindbergh Field) is within city limits, airport taxi permits are regulated by the Regional Airport Authority.

Prior to 1978, San Diego regulated taxis on the basis of public convenience and necessity, but a number of issues, partly attributable to the dominance of a single firm, led to a process of deregulation.87City

84

Nelson/Nygard Consulting Associates, Taxicab Refranchising Plan Peer Review, for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, December 2009, p.30, available at: http://ladot.lacity.org/pdf/PDF190.pdf

85_{http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/opinion/article_caf085f8-d1de-11e1-9b61-0019bb2963f4.html} 86

http://www.sdmts.com/MTS/documents/OrdinanceNo.11.pdf

87

Gelb, Pat M., Effects of taxi regulatory revision in San Diego, California, Urban Mass Transportation Administration, Office of Technical Assistance, Washington, DC, 1983 available at

council allowed six new permits to be issued each month and, after initially setting a ceiling on rates, removed it in 1980.

San Diego’s experiment with deregulation of its taxi market led to unanticipated problems. As expected, the number of cabs rapidly increased—from 409 to 915—while the number of companies jumped from 68 to 310, and the largest company’s share of business fell from 68% to 31%.88However, demand also fell (as measured by total trips), even though fares did not, causing a steep drop in drivers’ incomes.89 In 1982, council reversed course, imposing a moratorium on new licenses which lasted until 2001, and placing a ceiling on rates in 1983 that was 20% above the prevailing average. Companies were required to file their rates, but drivers were free to bargain with customers.90

In 1989, responsibility for regulating taxis for the City of San Diego was transferred to the Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB), which became the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) in 2005.

Meter Rates

One aspect of the deregulatory program that remains in effect is that only fare maximums are fixed by the SDMTS. These are set each year at 20% above the previous year’s average. The financial records that owners are required to keep and file do not include operating costs. Taxi permit holders must file their rate plans, which must be common to the radio service organization providing service. When new rates are filed, the taximeter must be inspected and resealed. The revised rates are posted on each side of the cab. SDMTS also sets uniform rates for all taxi trips from the San Diego International Airport.

The 2012 San Diego meter rates were:

An additional fee of $1.50 per trip may be charged through the taximeter on trips from the airport, to recover an airport imposed trip fee.

Leasing Regulations

There are no lease fee regulations as such, but the rights, requirements, and responsibilities that attach to the permit are unaffected by any agreement or leasing arrangement with a driver.

A recent news article reported lease fees of as much as $865per week,91 while the 2011Taxicab Permitting Process Study assigned a lease value of $2,000 per month in its calculations.

88

Frankena, Mark W., and Paul A. Pautler, An Economic Analysis of Taxicab Regulation, Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Economics Staff Report, May 1984, available at http://www.ftc.gov/be/econrpt/233832.pdf

89 _{Teal, Roger F., and Mary Berglund, “The Impacts of Taxicab Deregulation in the USA”, Journal of Transport}

Economics and Policy, January, 1987, pp. 37-56. See also True North Research, Taxicab Permitting Process Study Final Report, prepared for the Metropolitan Transit System, October 21, 2011, p.14.

90_{Frankena and Pautler, op.cit.} 91

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/opinion/article_caf085f8-d1de-11e1-9b61-0019bb2963f4.html

2011 2011 2012 2012

Average Maximum Maximum Airport

Flag

Drop: $2.50 $3.00 $3.10 $2.80 Per Mile: $2.70 $3.20 $3.30 $3.00 Per Hour: $21.40 $26.00 $27.00 $24.00