Some Cabbies Would Rather Bow Out of Etiquette Class

Cabbies had a reputation as gruff, tough souls even before Robert De Niro’s portrayal of a gun-toting insomniac some years back in “Taxi Driver.”

Now, the city of Los Angeles wants to change that image and is willing to fork over $100,000 to provide “sensitivity training” for the city’s 4,000 or so cabdrivers.

Although the program was originally intended to teach cabbies to be “sensitive to clients with mental and physical disabilities,” it has been expanded to instruct drivers in basic good manners. The idea is being promoted by city transit officials who say the training can make cabbies better “ambassadors” to tourists and other visitors.

“The Los Angeles International Airport is a port of entry for people from all over the world,” said James Okazaki, head of city transit programs. “We want our drivers to give a positive image for Los Angeles.”

This is not the city’s first effort to spiff up the image of L.A.’s cabbies. Back in 1990, the city Transportation Commission adopted a new dress code for cabdrivers and imposed strict fines for misbehavior such as rudeness or refusing to pick up passengers.

The dress code is something cabdrivers are still grousing about.

The proposal for sensitivity training follows a new requirement that all taxi companies make at least 2% of their cabs accessible to wheelchairs. Once that mandate was adopted by the Transportation Commission, transit officials decided that cabdrivers should have some instruction in better serving disabled and elderly passengers.

But Okazaki said the training will focus just as much on teaching drivers old-fashioned etiquette toward all passengers as it will on dealing with the aged and disabled.

“Just stuffing customers into the back seat and getting them to their destination is one way of doing it,” he said, “but some customers want more than just a quick ride.”

The training program has already been approved by the City Council’s Transportation Committee and is scheduled to go before the full council in two weeks.

Advocates for the disabled support the idea, saying many taxi drivers need to be made aware of the needs of older people and wheelchair users. “They are not helpful. They don’t open the door for you even though they know you are disabled,” said Janet A. Neal, a member of the city’s Commission on Disability.

She added that the disabled should get the same service as other passengers. “You pay your money, you should not pay to be treated poorly,” she said.

But the plan has generated some resentment among cabdrivers who say it shows that city officials believe cabbies to be insensitive oafs.

“The cabdrivers are not a bunch of dummies who don’t have any education,” Nasy Barani, a longtime taxi operator, said as he waited for fares near Van Nuys Airport. “We know how to treat people.”

Barani said that he has a bachelor of science degree in physics from the National University in Iran and that many other drivers also have college degrees.

“I don’t know why the city wants to spend $100,000 to teach me how to open the door for an elderly person,” he said. “I don’t know, maybe it’s election time.”

Ararat Vartanian, who has driven a taxi for 10 years, agreed, saying cabbies are motivated to treat passengers with respect to avoid losing customers and tips.

“This is a service,” he said as he waited for passengers near the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City. “You provide the service. If you don’t, you don’t get paid.”

Several cabdrivers said their companies already teach them how to deal with elderly and disabled passengers and remind them often to be polite to all riders.

Some taxi drivers suggested that the program should be required only for those who have had several complaints filed against them by passengers. Others argued that even if the program were aimed only at problem drivers, a day of “sensitivity training” would not put an end to the rude behavior.

“No matter how much you teach them, it’s not going to change some people,” said Varuzhan Kakosian, another driver waiting for fares near the Sheraton Universal.

Under the proposal, two firms would conduct two-hour classes with groups of up to 25 people for all the city’s licensed cabdrivers.

City officials have already recommended two firms: Cerenio Management Group, which has given similar instruction to cabdrivers in San Francisco, and RAJ & Associates, which has conducted training for teachers, students and health care professionals.

The program would be paid for with grants from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and city Department of Transportation.