Receive the recommendations of the Taxicab Task Force and refer the recommendations to City staff with direction that staff return to the Council with its responses and recommendations to the Task Force’s recommendations within 90 days from the date the recommendations are initially presented to Council for review. Staff will return within 45 days with a work plan to implement any recommendations approved by Council.

In October 1999, the City Council authorized the Mayor to create a Taxicab Task Force that would advise the Council on policies and procedures related to the taxi industry. Review of policies and procedures for the regulation of the taxi industry in San José has been an issue raised from time to time. The creation of the Taxicab Task Force provided a mechanism to focus on a number of regulatory matters from the perspective of both the public and the industry. In creating the Task Force, it was the Council’s intent to ensure a balance of perspectives, including taxi company owners, cab drivers, hotel and airport representatives, and customers. Support for the Task Force was provided by members of the Mayor’s staff.

Councilmembers referred nominations to the Mayor for consideration for appointment, and by December 1999, all Task Force members were appointed to achieve Council’s intent that a variety of perspectives be represented. Thirteen persons were appointed representing large and small taxi company owners, taxi drivers, downtown business, customers (including disabled customers), and labor. A complete list of the Task Force members is contained in Attachment A. Amy Dean, Executive Director of South Bay Labor Council, was voted Task Force Chair. When Ms. Dean was unable to chair the Task Force meetings in June due to an overseas commitment, Working Partnerships Policy Director Bob Brownstein took on the duties of Task Force Chair.

In addition to members of the Mayor’s staff, staff from the Police Department, Airport, City Attorney’s Office, and Finance Department provided support to the Task Force. City staff provided information regarding relevant City regulations and practices affecting the taxi industry in San José to ensure the Task Force understood the current operational, legal, or policy matters from the City’s perspective. The staff did not "screen" issues or otherwise attempt to guide the Task Force’s deliberations and recommendations. A list of those mayoral and City department staff members who supported the Task Force is also contained in Attachment A.

Although the representation of the Task Force was reasonably balanced, some smaller taxi companies and non-union drivers voiced concerns that the Task Force should have included all taxi companies licensed in San José instead of just the two largest companies. Non-union drivers were critical of the fact that all the taxi drivers on the Task Force were union drivers from Yellow Cab Company. To both concerns, Task Force support staff responded that the direction from the Council was to create a Task Force that included the perspectives of all the major parties in the industry. That meant appointing some representatives of cab companies, cab drivers, customers, businesses and labor. While no non-union drivers were appointed, staff believes the perspectives of drivers were well represented.

To ensure broad discussion of issues and viewpoints, Task Force meetings encouraged public participation. Many of the issues identified by the Task Force for study were the result of public input during the Task Force meetings. In addition, staff posted meeting schedules, meeting agendas, meeting notes and Task Force recommendations online with the Mayor’s website.

Beginning on January 13, the Task Force held eleven meetings, representing about 35 hours of discussion. Attendance at meetings was high, with an average of 9-12 members at each meeting, and the meetings often lasted several hours. The Task Force concluded its work by approving its list of recommendations on June 7, 2000, which is contained in Attachment B.

The Task Force identified some 63 issues for discussion and recommendations that were placed in the following categories:

• regulation;
• definitions;
• fares/incomes;
• fees;
• drug and alcohol issues;
• customer service;
• disabled and senior populations;
• taxi service at the Airport;
• hotels/attractions; and
• convenience/speed of service.

After identifying issues, the Task Force divided itself into two subcommittees. One subcommittee focused generally on categories related to regulation and the revising of the current taxicab ordinance. The second subcommittee reviewed categories generally related to customer service. Both subcommittees met between March and mid-May. Ten of the thirteen Task Force members served on both subcommittees.

In late May and early June, the full Task Force reconvened to review and adopt the recommendations of the two subcommittees. Of the original 63 issues, the Task Force formulated recommendations for 45 of them. For the remaining issues, the Task Force concluded that:

• The issue was already addressed in one of the 46 Task Force recommendations that were adopted. (Most of the no-action items fell into this category.)
• The Task Force did not consider the issue a major problem or a problem requiring City action.
• The current City practice or policy was satisfactory.

There was only one item where the Task Force could not reach a consensus -- the displaying of insignias on taxi vehicles.

While the Task Force discussed and made specific recommendations on most issues, some issues engendered much more discussion than others. The Task Force’s recommendations and discussion highlights are contained in Attachment B. However, major issues and recommendations include:

Establish a commission: There was concern that there is no specialized body to review taxi-related issues. The Task Force strongly recommends that an independent body be established to advise the Council on taxi fare rates, suggest revisions to the City’s taxicab ordinance, and review other ongoing industry-related issues.

Consider limiting the number of taxis: There was much discussion of the relationship between the number of taxis authorized to operate and the income of the drivers. Currently, the Police Department has the sole authority to grant permission to add additional vehicles under an owner’s license. The Task Force recommends that the City Council or "an appointed body thereof" directly administer this authority in a public forum with opportunity for public comment.

Evaluate demonstrated need and necessity for new applicants: There was concern about the impact of adding new taxi companies on the economic viability of existing companies serving San José. To address this issue, the Task Force recommends that a process, with public input, be developed to evaluate the need and necessity of new applicants for taxi operating licenses.

Review meter rates: cost of living vs. hours worked: A number of Task Force members expressed concern that the current City process and schedule for reviewing taxi meter rates do not allow driver incomes to keep up with the cost of living. To address this issue, the Task Force recommends that:

• the current ordinance be amended to tie taxi meter rates to the cost of living;
• taxi meter rates be reviewed at least annually; and
• there be emergency criteria established for reviewing taxi meter rates in between annual reviews (e.g., a significant rise in the cost of fuel).

Establish minimum fares at the Airport: Task Force members pointed out that short-trip fares out of the Airport have a significant impact on income for a given day. The Task Force recommends that there should be a minimum $10 fare.

Review the fees the City charges to drivers for permits and inspections: The Task Force felt these fees charged by the City are too high and should be reviewed.

Review the administration of the drug-testing program: There was a great deal of discussion on drug-testing requirements and how those requirements are administered by the taxi companies. The Task Force recommends the City ordinance be amended to require taxi companies to ensure that drivers are clear about the testing procedures.

Evaluate the taxi concession at the Airport: There was considerable discussion around the issue of allowing more than the current two companies to operate at the Airport. Some Task Force members felt opening up the Airport concession will provide more business opportunities to the smaller taxi companies, increase competition, and improve customer service. City had concerns about the potential impact on taxi customer service in the neighborhoods as well as the City’s ability to effectively administer a non-exclusive franchise at the Airport. The Task Force recommends that the Council appoint "an independent body" to evaluate Airport concession service.

In addition to these issues, other significant Task Force recommendations included:

• Review the process for how infractions of the City ordinance are handled, including providing a written warning before sanctions are imposed;
• Require 5% of the fleet of each taxi company fleet be wheelchair accessible;
• Waive City fees related to obtaining and maintaining wheelchair-accessible vehicles;
• Consider identifying locations at the Airport for disabled drop off and pick up;
• Require appropriate City staff to regularly distribute information to all taxi companies regarding conventions and downtown events to reduce the potential of inadequate customer service; and
• Look at opportunities to add taxi spaces at major downtown locations (e.g., the Arena, hotels, the Convention Center, etc.) to improve the availability of taxi service.

Nearly all of the Task Force recommendations were adopted either by unanimous vote or strong consensus.

The Task Force deliberations were designed to ensure that the issues, concerns, and recommendations would not be "screened" or "vetted" through City staff. With the completion of the Task Force’s deliberations, support staff recommend that Council defer taking final action on Task Force recommendations until City staff has had an opportunity to review them and offer its comments. Council is requested to direct City staff to return within 90 calendar days from the date of this report with specific recommendations for Council to consider. The staff report would include:

• Staff’s evaluation, concurrence, disagreement, and alternatives regarding each Task Force recommendation; and
• Specific City staff recommendations based on the Task Force’s report and staff evaluations.

The goal of this evaluation is to ensure that Council has sufficient information to adopt, reject or modify recommendations. Before returning to Council, staff’s report should first be reviewed by the Transportation and Environment Committee. Staff’s report may be referred to other Council committees as deemed appropriate by the Transportation and Environment Committee.

Within 45 calendar days after Council’s action, staff would return to the Transportation and Environment Committee and Council with a work plan to implement the recommendations approved by Council.

The fiscal impact on the City of the Task Force’s recommendations has not been assessed. Although establishing a commission would require some level of staff support, most recommendations likely could be addressed within currently budgeted resources. This is a preliminary assessment, however, and staff should specifically evaluate potential financial impacts as part of its review of the Task Force recommendations.

As noted earlier, there was great interest in these deliberations within the taxi community throughout the deliberation process, and all of the Task Force meetings were open to the public. There was a high degree of public turnout and comment at the early meetings, and every Task Force or subcommittee meeting was attended by at least a few members of the public.

In response to initial complaints about the distribution of meeting notices to taxi companies, all taxi companies licensed to operate in San José were notified of each subsequent meeting. In addition, Task Force agendas, meeting minutes and draft recommendations were placed on the Mayor’s website for public review. All taxi companies, large and small, were encouraged to attend and participate during the Task Force meetings to make their views known.

On August 21, 2000, the Task Force’s entire report was shared with the Disability Advisory Commission as recommendations specific to senior and disabled populations were presented. Commission members expressed their disappointment at not being specifically asked to serve on the Task Force and conveyed their desire that the Commission be consulted more often on issues impacting the disabled community. In general, the Commission agreed with the Task Force’s disabled-related recommendations with the following exceptions:

• The Commission disagreed with the Task Force recommendation to reduce senior discounts from 15% to 10%.
• The Commission believes that 5% of the total cab fleet citywide should be van-like and an additional 5% of cabs be equipped with roof or rear racks to load a wheelchair. This would make 10% of the total fleet accessible for those in wheelchairs. In addition, the Commission recommends that vans should be more readily available and an advertising system be developed and implemented to make it easy for disabled customers to find out which cab companies have vans that are available.
• The Commission stated that using disabled parking spaces for drop-off or pick-up may be a violation of federal law and recommended that the City consider taxi cab drop-off/ pick-up sites other than disabled parking spots to accomplish the recommendation’s objective.

The Commission’s complete comments are contained in Attachment C.

Staff will share the Task Force’s recommendation with the Airport Commission on September 11. Any comments received from that body will be factored into staff’s review of the Task Force’s recommendations and included in the staff’s next report to Council.