Panel Votes Against Granting 2nd Taxi Franchise for Valley : Transit: The Burbank firm that had hoped to break the monopoly plans to appeal to the City Council.

Los Angeles city transportation commissioners voted to prohibit a second taxicab company from operating in the San Fernando Valley after concluding that there is not enough business to support two firms.

The Transportation Commission’s action was the latest victory for Valley Cab Co., the only taxi franchise-holder in the Valley, and a defeat for Babaeian Transportation Co. Inc., the Burbank-based taxi company that has sought to break Valley Cab’s monopoly.

The commission’s 7-0 decision Thursday is still subject to approval by the full City Council. Representatives of Babaeian said they will appeal the commission’s decision to the council.

Tom Hefferan, vice president of Valley Cab, predicted that a struggle might still occur because of the influence of former Councilman Art Snyder, whose law firm is representing the Babaeian firm at City Hall. “When you’re dealing with Art Snyder, you’re dealing with a political problem, and that scares us,” Hefferan said.

Snyder’s law partner, Gilbert M. Archuletta Jr. who is handling the Babaeian firm’s case, could not be reached for comment. Also, Nate Holden, chairman of the transportation committee, who has made statements in favor of a second Valley taxi franchise, has called for council debate on the issue.

The commission vote, however, will seriously handicap the Babaeian team’s chances before the council.

Under city law, it takes a three-fourths council vote--or the approval of 12 members--to override a Transportation Commission recommendation on matters involving the selection of city franchise-holders. Without a city commission vote, it takes only eight council votes to approve a matter.

Plans to bring a second taxicab firm to the Valley were initially backed late last year by the city’s Department of Transportation. Further impetus came from Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the north Valley.

Proponents of having a second franchise argued that competition would help sharpen Valley Cab’s service. A Department of Transportation study indicating that Valley Cab was failing to meet a key city-imposed performance test appeared to bolster their case. Two-thirds of the time the firm failed to respond to a customer’s call for service within 15 minutes, the study said.

Department of Transportation regulations require cab firms to meet the 15-minute test 76% of the time or face monetary penalties. The department later conceded that the study was incomplete. Upon further testing, officials determined that Valley Cab’s service had improved and that its overall performance was acceptable.

In early January, the Transportation Commission voted to put Valley Cab on probation until April 1 to see if the firm continued with the service improvements noted earlier. A recent study has shown that the firm is meeting the 15-minute test 93% of the time.

“Valley Cab has probably done as well as any company in Los Angeles,” the department’s staff reported to the commission Thursday in advising that no second franchise be issued.