City May OK Moratorium on New Taxi Permits
The City Council is expected to pass a moratorium today on new taxi permits.
After expansion plans were announced two years ago for the Anaheim Convention Center, Disneyland and area resorts, city officials have been flooded with inquiries from taxicab companies seeking to crack what they see as a lucrative market, said John Poole, the city’s code enforcement manager.
But Poole and his staff are recommending that the council deny all new taxi permit requests pending the formation of a committee to review the city’s taxicab needs.
“We think it’s premature to allow any more cabs in the city until we’ve had more time to study it,” Poole said.
“We have a large amount of tourism, but we want to make sure we have a balance.”
Safety concerns, as well as a desire to limit conflict among cabbies clamoring for customers at major tourist venues, is driving the city’s desire to limit the permits, he said.
The fleet of taxis operating in the city is more than adequate to service the community, he contended, pointing out that the city has received only two complaints over the last six months from residents or visitors who say a cab shortage is a problem.
About 165 taxicabs from two companies operate in the city.
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