Need to Grab a Cab? Cost Differs From City to City

Sooner or later a traveler is bound to wind up in a taxi, engaging in a cash-for-transport transaction that seems simple enough.

But once you slide into that cab, you’re entering a world unto itself. And keep your wits about you: As a recent round of calls to New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles reveals, this industry is evolving and simmering with disputes. A traveler forewarned of this--and forewarned of the big differences in how cities’ taxis operate--is a safer, less frustrated visitor.

For openers, close your eyes and picture 40 gleaming yellow taxis in a big city parking lot, a mile wide and a mile long. Mathematically, that’s the New York City taxi landscape--about 40 taxis in a square mile. In all, that’s 12,187 authorized cabs in the 301 square miles that make up the city’s five boroughs.

Now picture 30 taxis on the same grid. That’s San Francisco, with 1,381 authorized cabs in the city’s 46.7 square miles.

Now picture that same mile-square grid again, this time with five lonely taxis. Welcome to Los Angeles, home to 2,303 authorized taxis in 466 square miles.

This doesn’t mean taxis in Los Angeles are eight times slower to arrive than in New York or six times slower than San Francisco.

It merely means this city has more territory, fewer cabs and probably fewer citizens who expect to find cabs. In fact, though New York’s fleet of taxis has grown by 400 in the last few years and San Francisco’s may soon grow by 500, adding taxis isn’t on the top-priority list for the Los Angeles officials now overhauling cab regulations.

Instead, says city taxi administrator Tom Drischler, the priority is to limit the number of companies with city franchises, require improvements in the technology of their dispatching systems, and raise standards for drivers and service.

The biggest problem here, Drischler says, is the city’s many unlicensed cabs, which cruise for passengers outside restaurants, bars and malls but pay no city licensing fees and may not meet city safety standards.

The city’s regulatory overhaul has sparked plenty of controversy among drivers and cab companies, especially in the run-up to a crucial vote in November. That’s when City Council members granted 10-year operating agreements to nine companies, each of which must operate at least 70 cabs but no more than 35% of the total L.A. fleet. Weighing business plans, company experience and regulatory histories, Drischler says, the council turned away Valley Cab, American Taxi, Smart Taxi and A Taxi.

By July, each of the approved companies is to have installed computerized dispatch systems in every cab, which will allow regulators to hold companies more accountable for reliable performance. Taxis will also be required to accept credit cards for bills of $7 or more, a practice that now varies by company.

These moves follow a rate increase of 11% last May, the first such increase approved by the City Council in 12 years.

Current fares: $1.90 to get in the cab and travel the first 1/9 mile, then $1.80 per mile, or 20 cents for each 36 seconds of waiting or traffic delay. For trips between downtown Los Angeles and LAX, the flat fare is $27 (up from $24), plus a $2.50 airport fee for rides that begin at LAX.

Comparing 1999 rates in more than 40 major cities, taxicab commission staffers found that the new Los Angeles rate, at $10.70 for a five-mile ride, ranked in the middle of the pack. (Some cities show a range because of varying rates, often tied to the time of day or where the ride begins.) Costliest was San Diego, which was $20.60 at its high end (although $10.63 at its low end), followed by San Bernardino at $16.90 and Santa Barbara at $14.40 on the high end (but $10.50 on the low). A few rungs down the ladder, beneath Sacramento, Glendale, Santa Monica and San Jose, was San Francisco at $11.20.

Outside California, the costliest city surveyed was Indianapolis at $11.25, followed by Boston and Miami at $11 and Seattle at $10.80. Most affordable was Austin, Texas, at $7.30, followed by Dallas at $7.50.

Meanwhile, the taxi trade has been changing in San Francisco and New York.

In San Francisco, where city officials acknowledge that the scarcity of cabs has been a frequent refrain, the size of the permitted fleet has grown from 981 in 1988 to 1,381. Under an October vote by the Taxicab Commission, the fleet may grow by 500 more.

If the proposal withstands environmental review, says city Police Inspector and taxi specialist Farrell Suslow, the first new cabs could reach the streets by July.

Since January 1999, the city has mandated fare limits of $2.50 to get in and travel the first 1/6 mile, plus $1.80 per mile, plus 40 cents per minute of waiting or traffic time delays. Last July, the Taxicab Commission bumped that mileage charge from $1.80 to $2 per mile. No further adjustments are expected before September.

The ride from San Francisco International Airport to downtown usually costs $32 to $38, by estimate of Salk International’s 2001 Airport Transit Guide. (Taxi passengers pay all bridge tolls, as they do in New York.)

In New York City, fares haven’t increased since 1996, when they jumped 20%. Passenger charges start with $2 to get into the cab, plus $1.50 per mile (if the cab is traveling at least 8 mph) and 20 cents for every minute of waiting time or time spent traveling less than 8 mph. For rides that begin after 8 p.m. and before 6 a.m., there’s a surcharge of 50 cents.

Since 1996, the Taxi and Limousine Commission has mandated a $30 flat fare (plus bridge or tunnel tolls) from John F. Kennedy International Airport to anywhere in Manhattan. From LaGuardia, New York’s principal domestic airport, the Salk guide estimates the usual fare to midtown Manhattan at $16 to $26, plus a $3 toll.

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Christopher Reynolds welcomes comments and suggestions but cannot respond individually to letters and calls. Write Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 or e-mail chris.reynolds@latimes.com.