Supervisors to Study Airport Taxi Monopoly

At John Wayne Airport, harried travelers may pick among airlines, rental car companies, even shuttle services. But they have a single taxicab company to choose--at least for now.

That may soon change, thanks to a recent Board of Supervisors decision.

The board voted unanimously last week to order a thorough examination of the benefits and downsides to allowing two taxi companies at John Wayne. With an eye toward awarding a cab contract early next year, the board is also soliciting dual proposals from cab companies--one outlining how they would operate if they were the airport’s sole carrier and another detailing a plan if they were one of two cab companies there.

John Wayne is a rarity among major airports nationwide in that it operates with only one contracted taxicab company. But with the opening of a new, $28-million parking lot expansion--including a ground transportation center--it may be time to offer passengers a choice of cabs, even though rates are preset, said Vicki Mathews, an airport deputy director. The airport has received requests from the public for more taxi choices.

“John Wayne Airport strives very, very hard to provide excellent customer service,” she said. “The benefit of offering customers a choice would fall within a policy we have to [host] more than one operator when feasible.”

Never in its history has John Wayne given a contract to more than one cab company at a time. For 22 years, Orange Coast Yellow Cab held the exclusive contract. Offering lower fares to riders and more revenue to the county, A-AAA Yellow Cab Co.--now doing business as A Taxi Cab--won the contract in 1996.

Now A Taxi’s owner, Hossein Nabati, wonders what the problem is. He suspects that the county supervisors may wish to replace his company because of a protest staged earlier this year by former and current employees complaining about long work hours.

Nabati said he’s spent more than $2 million upgrading his fleet. He would like an 18-month extension to recoup his investment before another cab company is allowed to work at the airport.

“We have the best cabs, the best drivers, the best fleet and we gave the county . . . more money,” he said. “Every time we asked if anything was wrong, they said everything was perfect. So why no extension?”

Lawmakers will need to see formal proposals and staffers’ analysis before deciding whether to go with one cab company or two, said Supervisor Tom Wilson.

He added, however, that he’s inclined to stick with one company. Rather than having competition between two cab companies at the airport, he contends that the competition should occur in the bidding process.

“No one stands outside John Wayne Airport waiting for a taxi,” he said. “They’re always there. . . . Having two cab companies seems to me like it would be difficult to manage.”