LOS ANGELES : City Gives 10-Year Permits to 9 Taxicab Companies
The city Transportation Commission renewed the operating permits of nine taxicab companies Thursday, granting longer terms to help them raise more capital for new equipment.
Previously, commissioners had doled out franchises for five-year terms to keep a tight rein on the industry. But Mayor Richard Riordan’s appointees agreed with taxicab operators that 10-year permits will open the way for more lending from banks.
“What I’m trying to do is upgrade the industry,” said Commissioner Ryan Snyder, chairman of the panel’s taxi subcommittee. “I want them to get computerized dispatch systems. I want them to get new vehicles.”
Improved borrowing will also help taxi companies meet a planned city mandate for a portion of each fleet to be accessible to passengers who use wheelchairs, Snyder said.
Only seven wheelchair-accessible taxis currently operate in the city, all in the San Fernando Valley. But the commission recently awarded Bell Cab permits to field 10 more south of the Santa Monica Mountains and Hollywood Hills.
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