New Get-Tough Rules to Control Taxis at Lindbergh Field

The Board of Port Commissioners on Tuesday approved setting up a holding area for taxis that is two miles from congested Lindbergh Field in yet another get-tough effort to control the number of cabs arriving at the airport.

Taxis would be required to wait in the lot, situated at Harbor Drive and Nimitz Boulevard, until a dispatcher from the San Diego Unified Port District dispatched them to the airport. Cabdrivers would then be given a time-stamped dispatch ticket. Without the ticket, drivers would not be allowed to pick up passengers.

While the main purpose of the holding lot is to reduce the number of taxis now crowding the airport--and, in some cases, causing dangerous driving conditions--the 50-car facility will also be used for another purpose.

Drivers in the lot, which could be in operation in about 45 days, will be checked to make sure they are complying with the port district’s policy for appearance, have the proper permits, and that their cars are clean, according to Bruce Hollingsworth, the port district’s director of administrative services.

Limit on Testing

In another aspect of the get-tough effort, port commissioners limited the number of times a cabdriver can take the test for a permit to work at the airport. Previously there was no limit, but now an applicant can take the test four times a year.

“Experience recently gained in providing the taxi driver permit examination indicates that the exam could be compromised by persons intentionally failing the exam,” according to a report given to Port Commissioners. “Those individuals who take the exam more than three or four times are conceivably able to sufficiently memorize enough of the exam questions to not only pass the test but in addition, to pass on the questions to other drivers not yet taking the exam.”

The regulating of taxis at the airport has been a headache for the port district, which controls Lindbergh Field. Last March, after the litany of complaints about rude service, sloppy-looking drivers and drivers who didn’t know their way around town hit a crescendo, port commissioners approved various regulations intended to bring some control over the situation.

The board has approved the hiring of 11 new employees who will be in charge of traffic enforcement and dispatching taxis at the airport, and has instituted a rotation system so that no more than 450 cabs a day descend on Lindbergh Field.

But now, nearly a year later, the port district has found that more changes and refinements are still needed.

The idea of the holding lot is not new. Early last year, port commissioners approved creating the facility after being told by representatives of the taxi industry that they would cooperate together and voluntarily organize a dispatch system.

Use of Lot Mandatory

“As of this date, no dispatch system has been set up and therefore, the hold lot has never been used,” according to the report. What has continued to occur instead, said Hollingsworth, is that cabs congregate in long lines at the airport waiting for fares, causing congestion. Under the policy approved Tuesday, use of the holding lot will be mandatory. Taxi drivers who refuse to use the facility can have their permits suspended or revoked.

There was some concern by port commissioners that the new system might prove unwieldy at times when demand for cabs is strong, but Hollingsworth said that if the dispatch system works successfully, there shouldn’t be any problem with having enough cabs available.

Of more worry to commissioners was the wait of up to 20 minutes for a cab that sometimes hits Lindbergh Field at peak periods of demand, such as late Friday night, Sunday and holidays such as Thanksgiving.

Commissioner Louis Wolfsheimer said the last thing a person wants who has arrived on a long flight from the East and then stood waiting 20 minutes to pick up luggage is to wait another 20 minutes for a cab. Hollingsworth said after the meeting that the long waits only happen during peak periods and that the port district is working to decrease the waiting time.

Two-Part Examination

On the issue of the tests, 463 drivers have taken the exam, which is administered by the San Diego Community College District and consists of two parts. One part consists of listening to a tape recording of a passenger asking to be taken to a certain location and then finding out if the driver understands the request and can find the place. The second part is a written exam in which drivers are tested on their knowledge of how to use a Thomas Brothers map.

Of the 463 who have taken the test, 419, or 92%, have passed. The port district expected several hundred more drivers to take the test, and officials aren’t sure why they haven’t. There is speculation that some cabdrivers are wary that their limited knowledge of English could be an obstacle, while others have their own way of doing their jobs and don’t want to get involved with the port district.