Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council

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1 Office of the City Manager To: From: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Phil Kamlarz, City Manager Submitted by: Christine Daniel, Deputy City Manager Subject: Berkeley Taxi Cab Association SUMMARY On March 29, 2011 the City Council referred to the City Manager a number of issues concerning taxi operations in the City of Berkeley, including those raised in a letter from the Berkeley Taxi Cab Association (BTCA), and requested that the City Manager formally respond to BTCA. The BTCA has been sent a copy of this report in response to the issues described in their letter. Previously, on January 31, 2011, Deputy City Manager Christine Daniel sent a letter inviting the Berkeley taxi community to a meeting on February 14, (There are currently 56 permitted taxi owners in Berkeley and 121 permitted drivers.) The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the concerns raised in the October 4, 2010 Berkeley Taxi Cab Association letter. The meeting was convened on February 14, 2011and seven (7) taxi representatives attended. The meeting was also attended by Councilmember Worthington. The seven taxi company representatives that attended the meeting were: Donald Jelinek, Attorney for Yellow Cab Express; Nick Singh, Manager Yellow Cab Express; Punjab Singh, Manager Yellow Cab Express; Kevin Ho, Manager Friendly Cab Company; Vikas Aggerwal, Owner Unique Cab; Yusuf Nur, Driver DD Cab; Gurpreet Singh, Driver Green Cab. City staff that attended the meeting were: Christine Daniel, Deputy City Manager; Captain Cynthia Harris, Berkeley Police Department; Bob Hicks, Finance Director; Heather Murphy, Finance Revenue Manager; Yolanda Crowder, Finance; Doreen Monroe, Finance; Gregory Daniel, City Manager s Office; Gerald Love, City Manager s Office. Based on information provided by the BTCA, staff understands that the organization has 12 members consisting of five owners and seven drivers. Because the issues raised in the BTCA letter affect all taxi owners and drivers, staff invited not only the BTCA members, but all affected taxi representatives to attend the meeting to discuss the issues. Unfortunately, the BTCA members did not participate Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA Tel: (510) TDD: (510) Fax: (510) manager@cityofberkeley.info Website:

2 CURRENT SITUATION AND ITS EFFECTS The March 29, 2011 referral from the City Council included a number of specific issues. Each issue is addressed separately below. 1. Implement all preapproved taxi stands in the City, including at Berkeley Amtrak. On November 30, 2010, the Code Enforcement Unit began the process of evaluating the taxi stands authorized by Council Resolution No. 61,548, as well as additional taxi stands requested by the Berkeley Taxi Association in their October 4, 2010 letter. Site inspections of existing taxi stands resulted in the following: 1. As a result of construction on Center Street the five vehicle taxi stand on the south side of Center Street has been temporarily moved to the north side of Center Street. In addition, the revised traffic plan allowed for an additional five vehicles at the Center Street taxi stand. Currently the Center Street taxi stand accommodates ten vehicles. 2. There has been no change to the two vehicle taxi stands at the SE corner of Durant and Bowditch (Durant Hotel). 3. Due to long term private construction and infrastructure improvement to the Amtrak Station, the Amtrak taxi stand was temporarily removed. A two vehicle taxi stand will be placed in approximately the same location. 4. The two vehicle taxi stand on the SW corner of Hearst and Euclid (UC North Gate) was temporarily removed. The taxi stand has been restored. 5. There has been no change to the taxi stand at the NW corner of Gilman and San Pablo. 6. There has been no change to the taxi stand at Alta Bates Hospital. 2. Designate additional taxi stands to be placed in high-traffic areas, including one specifically at the UC South Gate. BMC Section A requires the establishment of new taxi stands by Council Resolution. After conducting site inspections the Transportation Division of the Public Works Department has suggested the following locations for additional taxi stands: UC South Gate: At Sproul Hall, designate part of the white zone on the north side of Bancroft and east of Telegraph to a one vehicle taxi only zone. One additional space may be added in the future if there is a usage demand. South Campus: Piedmont and Bancroft (International House), designate a one vehicle taxi only zone north of the disabled parking on Piedmont. Page 2

3 Center Street Taxi Stand: After all construction is completed, evaluate the placement of a five vehicle taxi stand on NW corner and SW corner of Center Street and Shattuck. Problematic Locations Shattuck Hotel Management of the Shattuck Hotel are not supportive of a taxi stand at their location. It is their experience that the white zone in front of the Shattuck Hotel is heavily used as a loading and unloading zone by hotel patrons and employees assisting hotel patrons and that a taxi stand would significantly interfere with that necessary hotel activity. 4 th Street Shopping Center Merchants and property owners are not supportive of creating additional restricted parking by adding a taxi stand in this area, especially as retail locations in the area become more robust. Merchants are satisfied with the Amtrak taxi stand. Bancroft Hotel There is currently a single space white loading and unloading zone at the Bancroft Hotel. Adding a taxi stand would require the removal of a revenue generating parking meter. Alta Bates Hospital Adding an additional taxi stand would require the removal of a revenue generating parking meter. 3. Allow leeway for taxi operators charged with loading/unloading disabled/needy passengers by alerting the Berkeley Police Department to the difficulties taxi operators undergo in assisting disabled passengers, so that BPD may avoid issuing parking violations to operators engaged in loading/unloading disabled/needy passengers. This is Item 5 of the October 4, 2010 Berkeley Taxi Cab Association letter. This issue was discussed with the taxi owners and drivers that attended the February 14, 2011 meeting, convened by the City Manager s Office. None of the taxi owners or drivers attending had experienced a situation where a taxi driver was cited by a Berkeley Police Officer or by Berkeley Parking Enforcement while assisting a disabled or needy person. The City Manager s Office is also unaware of such citations having been issued. Nevertheless, BMC Section D provides that: Drivers shall board passengers at the nearest safe, legal and feasible point to the passenger s location and shall deboard passengers at a point from which they can safely proceed. If a passenger is entering or disembarking from a taxi vehicle that is double-parked in the traffic lane, that not only poses a safety issue for the passenger, the driver and other drivers and bicyclists traveling on the same street, it is a violation of the state Vehicle Code. As explained at the February Page 3

4 14 th meeting, BPD officers will continue to use their discretion when assessing these types of situations and take enforcement action as appropriate. 4. Coordinate with the Berkeley Police Department to authoritatively to decide to create a B.P.D. training bulletin for enforcement procedures on any taxicab found to be illegally operating in Berkeley by actively seeking out non-berkeley taxicabs and rendering fines against such operators. This is Item 10 of the Berkeley Taxi Cab Association Letter. At the February 14, 2011 meeting Captain Cynthia Harris explained that the Berkeley Police Department does not have sufficient resources or personnel at this time to staff a designated taxi detail. However, the Berkeley Police Department would consider a training bulletin regarding BMC Chapter 9.52 and illegal taxis. Additionally, the Office of Economic Development in collaboration with the Berkeley Convention and Visitors Bureau is coordinating their efforts to discourage the use of non-berkeley permitted taxis by local merchants, including hotels, and will convene a meeting with Berkeley taxi owners, taxi drivers and hotel managers to improve relationships and customer service. 5. Heighten awareness of non-berkeley licensed taxicabs on certain high-traffic days in the City, Such as when major sporting events or performances take place in the City. See Item 4 response above. 6. Schedule reevaluation of rates to be in place for the new year, as well as evaluate the potential for a reasonable fee to transfer taxi licenses and medallions. This is Item 1 of the Berkeley Taxi Cab Association letter. With respect to rates, the City s current flag drop rate is $3.00. That is the same flag drop rate as the City of Oakland. However, Oakland s rates were revised to allow for a number of additional fees to be charge for specific services as follows: $5 minimum fare Airport fee set by Oakland Airport $1 night surcharge after 10pm $1 small animal fee $1 per additional stop $0.50 obtaining change $1 luggage that forces truck open 150% of fare over 15 miles out of city Page 4

5 The City of Berkeley has not historically added such specific service charges and any consideration of adding such charges would need to include an analysis of the impacts on the low income and senior communities of these types of additional fees. The issue regarding the transfer of taxi permits refers to BMC Section A which states in part: Such permits shall not be assigned, sold or transferred to another business owner, driver or vehicle. At the February 14, 2011 meeting, Mr. Jelinek, attorney for Yellow Cab Express, stated that the prohibition on permit transfers has a detrimental impact on large cab owners because of the investment that they make when they acquire the company and the vehicles. Mr. Jelinek offered to propose draft language amending Section A to enable holders of taxi permits to recoup the investment they make in those permits by transferring them to a willing buyer. Staff has not yet received the draft language from Mr. Jelinek. 7. Send notifications of all to-be-changes business license fees to taxi operators in the City which might be affected by such fee changes. Staff believes this item refers to the Business License tax of $215 per vehicle set forth in Berkeley Municipal Code Section Staff acknowledges that for the past several years the City only charged each taxi owner a flat fee of $215 (and did not charge the per vehicle fee as required by the BMC). Once that error was identified this year, staff notified the owners that the required fee would be collected in full. This was not a change in the fee authorized by the Municipal Code, but rather the correction of a prior error by staff. 8. Provide additional times for taxi operators to trade in their taxi SCRIP for money, as well as higher redemption limits. This is Item 3 of the BTCA letter. The taxi representatives who attended the February 14 th meeting did not find this to be an issue for them, nevertheless, staff described the process so that everyone was clear about it. Finance Department staff described how taxi SCRIP can be redeemed Monday (9:30am-11:30am), and Tuesday and Thursday (2pm-4pm). In addition Finance staff also noted that a review of their records for the past year shows that, except for one person, taxi SCRIP redemptions are less than the current $200 limit. As has been explained in previous meetings with the taxi community, as an appropriate internal financial control, the City has an interest in limiting the amount of cash on-hand for this purpose at the Customer Service counter. However, taxi representatives are also able to bundle their SCRIP and send it in Page 5

6 and the City will issue a check for the full amount to be redeemed; this process is not subject to the same $200 limit as the cash transactions. 9. Examine the need for the current system with two separate inspections during the permit-clearance process: a single comprehensive inspection by the City Corp Yard might prove to be more operationally- and cost-efficient. This is Item 9 of the BTCA letter. The City currently conducts two different inspections of each taxi vehicle in order to ensure that (1) the vehicles are safe for the public and (2) provide the appropriate level of customer service. As discussed in the February 14, 2011 meeting, the Equipment Maintenance Mechanics are inspecting the vehicles to insure that each vehicle meets the California Vehicle Code for roadworthiness and safe operation. The safety inspections for each vehicle are done at no charge to the business owner. The second vehicle inspection performed by Finance Department staff is to ensure that the vehicle complies with BMC sections , , and prior to the vehicle permit being issued. These sections require, among other things, that the taxi owner s name and address, and the rates, are posted for the customer s reference; that the vehicles have distinctive markings and color schemes so that passengers can identify them easily, that the passenger compartment is properly illuminated and that the taximeters are properly operating. 10. Allow taxi operators to temporarily suspend their medallion agreements with the City when taking sick/vacation leave, so that drivers need not pay monthly medallion upkeep. This is Item 13 of the BTCA letter. At the February 14, 2011 meeting with the taxi owners and taxi drivers, staff explained the following: 1. All taxis permitted by the City must be properly insured for as long as the vehicle possesses a vehicle permit. 2. It is the responsibility of the business owner to arrange for the proper management and operation of their business when they are on vacation or out of the country. 3. Financial arrangements between the owners and drivers regarding the payment of the gate is not the responsibility of the City. 4. The City does not issue temporary permits for owners, drivers or vehicles. POSSIBLE FUTURE ACTION With respect to item 2 above, staff is pursuing the establishment of a taxi zone on the north side of Bancroft at Sproul Hall and a taxi zone on the east side of Piedmont, north of the International House. In addition, at the conclusion of construction in the 2000 Page 6

7 block of Center Street, the Transportation Division will evaluate the feasibility of expanding the Center Street taxi stand and increasing the number of allowed vehicles from five vehicles to ten vehicles. Staff will return in June with amendments to Resolution 61,548 to establish the new taxi stands at Sproul Hall and the International House. With respect to item 4 above, the Berkeley Police Department is considering developing a training bulletin to increase officers awareness of taxi code violations under BMC Chapter 9.52 Taxi Cabs and Automobiles for Hire. FISCAL IMPACTS OF POSSIBLE FUTURE ACTION To the extent that parking meters are removed to establish new taxi stands, the fees paid by taxis for the use of taxi stands are unlikely to offset the loss of parking meter revenue. CONTACT PERSON Christine Daniel, Deputy City Manager, Office of the City Manager, (510) Page 7

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