Transit Officials Switch Again, Include City in Uniform Cab Fare

Transit officials reversed themselves Thursday and voted to include San Diego in a plan to make taxi fares uniform throughout the city.

According to a Metropolitan Transit Development Board proposal, all taxi companies that operate in the city will have to charge a standard fare of $1.50 a mile. The board’s plan will force some cab companies that now charge $1.20 and $1.40 a mile to raise their fares.

Two weeks ago, the MTDB voted to exclude San Diego from a uniform cab fare plan and limit the change to trips to and from Lindbergh Field.

The move by the board, which came on a 10-5 vote, marks the third time this year that transit officials have changed their minds on a transit policy for San Diego.

Thursday’s move brought threats of legal action by Vic Burnett, a member of the Co-Op Cab board of directors. Co-Op’s fare is $1.40 a mile, one of the lowest in the city. Burnett and other Co-Op officials oppose a uniform fare and want to block the higher rates.

“We will probably seek counsel and try to get an injunction to stop it. We are prepared to talk to an attorney and see what he suggests,” Burnett said.

Barring any roadblocks, the uniform fare will go into effect in June, said Barbara Lupro, MTDB paratransit regulatory administrator, and be reviewed in January. In addition to the $1.50 per mile, cab companies will be required to charge $1.40 for the flag drop at the start of the ride, and $12 per hour of waiting.

Existing fares in San Diego range from $1.20 to $1.80 per mile. Coast Cab, which also opposes a uniform rate, has the lowest fare, at $1.20. Both Coast and Co-Op charge $1 for the flag drop. Cab companies in San Diego now use variable rates, which allow them to charge different fares up to a maximum allowed by the MTDB.

The opposition by Co-Op and Coast represents a small minority in the taxi industry. Most operators, including Yellow Cab, the largest cab company in San Diego, favor a uniform rate. Industry officials have repeatedly pointed out that San Diego is the only major city in the country that does not have uniform fares.

Floyd Morrow, an attorney who represents an association of independent cab owners, said setting a uniform fare for San Diego is necessary “to bring order out of chaos.” The board’s previous proposal to have a uniform fare only at the airport would be too confusing to tourists, he said.

“Our position is that it’s impossible to have different rates for people who work the airport and the rest of the city. Cab drivers at the airport represent only 16% of the industry. . . . You can’t mandate one part of the industry to do something and let everybody else do their own thing,” Morrow said.

San Diego City Councilman Ron Roberts, who is also an MTDB member, opposed the uniform fare partly because it could “wipe out” Coast and Co-Op.

Parvis Ebrahimi, owner of Coast Cab, was not available for comment. However, in the past Ebrahimi has complained that the higher rate would hurt his riders, who are mostly elderly and people with low incomes.

As an alternative to the higher fare, Ebrahimi has proposed a two-tiered uniform rate that includes “a uniform discount rate” for low-income riders. According to his proposal, the transit board should set a higher uniform rate for companies that do not want to offer discounts and a standard discount rate for others.