‘hail-a-taxi’ initiative launching awareness campaign
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Sometimes you just can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Hollywood and Downtown LA’s Hail-a-Taxi initiative, which began a six-month trial run on July 31 of this year, has seen mixed results for those attempting to flag down those elusive yellow cabs.
Under the terms of the pilot program, taxis are allowed to stop on city streets in restricted parking or anti-gridlock zones while picking up or dropping off a fare, without the risk of a hefty fine for doing so.
But Angelenos wedded to their cars may not know about alternatives to driving to work alone, while cab drivers complain of a lack of demand for their services outside of standard commuting hours, spending much of their time in a queue at designated ‘taxi zones’ throughout Downtown.
The problem is twofold, says Hal Bastian of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (BID), which was instrumental in securing the test program. “You have a cultural issue and a ‘cruising’ issue.”
Chicken-or-Egg
A new awareness program starting December 8th aims to increase cultural acceptance of a cab-filled urban LA through signage and media outreach, with a “Taxi Driver Appreciation” event on the Nokia Plaza at 11:00am.
Once approvals are gained, up to 500 new informative signs will be placed throughout the Downtown financial center, instructing visitors, workers and residents on the ins and outs of hailing a cab.
But cruising — or in-service cabs driving city streets on the lookout for fares — is a different issue, one that will require a leap of faith from independent taxi drivers to fix.
Currently, drivers wait for up to three hours in the hopes of scoring the coveted — and lucrative — Downtown-to-LAX fare.
For a rider simply trying to get to the other side of Downtown, however, the earful you’ll receive won’t make for a pleasant experience.
Special ‘Cruising Zone’
The solution as envisioned by the BID is to get those cabbies who are currently waiting at Financial District taxi stands to cruise the streets of Downtown.
A special “cruising zone” has been set up between Temple Street on the north, 12th Street on the south, Main Street on the east, and the 110 Freeway on the west, where cab drivers will be encouraged to drive and pick up fares.
If executed properly, commuters may choose to take transit into Downtown if they know they’ll be able to reach their final destination in a timely manner, and the increased demand for short runs will make it worth the while of drivers now stuck in a game of wait-and-see.
With thousands of jobs, residents, hotel rooms and dozens of restaurants in the area, a successful launch has wide-reaching implications for Downtown.
Disclosure: I am married to a BID employee.
We want to hear your Downtown taxi experiences. Let us know in the comments!
10 comments
The cruising zone is a good idea, but I NEVER see cabs cruising Main Street. I’d take cabs more if I could just flag one, and I have done so, but it is hard to rely on one showing up. I will call if I need one and one does not drive by, and they usually come in less than 5 minutes.
If everyone knew they could get cabs on the “cruising” streets it might be easier, but I am not sure why the 110 would be part of that, considering you can’t hail a cab on the freeway :-)
Even if the trial proves to not be very popular I don’t see why LA wouldn’t continue to allow taxi’s to pick up fares anywhere they can. If it’s not very popular that means that it’s not causing traffic problems and is therefore successful.
I hailed a taxi coming out of the Standard last Saturday…and to just go to Blue Velvet, maybe I got lucky but it was pretty simple
One of the main problems besides cabbies just waiting at the taxi zones for people to come to them is an insisted minimum for on card transactions. I’m not sure if this is resolvable, but taxi in and around downtown while fast is also cheap yet a lot of cabbies insist on 10 dollar min for using a card.
If I didn’t have to find an ATM and most likely pay a fee just to then go find a taxi, I would be more inclined to use this mode of transport.
I know cabs are supposed to take any and all fares, but perhaps a large root of the problem is the failure for some cabs to accept short-haul fares.
My wife tried twice recently to get a cab to take her from 7th and Grand to the Flower district and she couldn’t get anyone to do so.
I’m amazed with the three-hour wait Rich describes waiting for the downtown to LAX fare. It’s that mentality that must be broken - getting the cabs to work instead of sitting for three hours.
To break the “sit’n wait” mentality of the cabbies, change the fare structure. The cabbies are (presumably) just engaged in rational behavior maximizing their income. If the fare structure is altered to make short trips finacially attractive, the behavior of some cabbies can be changed to the benefit of customers seeking short trips. And, the cabbies can make a profit.
Moreover, to jumpstart the process, maybe the BID or some transit authority needs to hire/subsidize a group of cabbies for the explicit purpose of cruising. The point being, in addition to the changed fare structure, create a critical mass of cruising cabs and customers until a virtuous cycle of reinforcing behavior kicks in.
Frankly, the signage initiative sounds like a waste of money. I don’t see how it is going to encourage the desired behavior. It sounds more like an effort for the BID to show they are ‘doing something’. I’d prefer if they did something which had a reasonable chance of changing the situation.
As Brian points out, the first step has to be getting cab drivers to accept and be okay with driving short fares. I’ve been yelled at multiple times for getting a cab at 3am to go only a mile. Once, the driver drove about 55 mph on downtown streets, ignoring the stoplights the entire way. So much for my belief that it would be safer to take a cab than walk at that time of night. New signs on the streets are not going to make me want to start taking cabs more often until such behavior is curbed.
Frankly, all of the DTLA cabdrivers I’ve ever encountered are complete assholes, whether dealing with them in person trying to convince them to take me across town or whether it’s on the road, where common courtesy and traffic laws are completely foreign concepts. I find it difficult to compel myself to give them ANY business at all.
Justin - Any minimum charge by any business for the use of a card is a strict violation of Visa/MasterCard regulations. I’m sure the other major cards are the same. The companies can have their merchant accounts revoked if there are enough complaints. A business may give a cash discount but minimums are a no no. Most people don’t challenge posted minimums but maybe it’s time we do.
On our way back from LAX [using the Fly Away out of Union Station] we got a cab to our place @ 3rd & Broadway without any problems, $7.00 I think + tip[cash]. No problem with the short hop. If any cabbie yelled at me for something like that, believe me, they & their boss/company would hear about it.
Maybe the cab companies should be approached regarding a dedicated crew of cabs for the short hops, possibly susidized as David suggests.
It’s also important to not take any lip from drivers. If they refuse your fare or break the law, ask them firmly for their license number and cab number and tell them that they will be reported to LADOT. Then actually report them.
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