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Home My WebLink AboutIR 8102 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8102 January 6, 1998 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Pagel of3 Subject: TAXICAB REGULATION ISSUES 1 873 Following is a discussion of taxicab regulation issues considered by the Governmental Relations Committee. Inspections .Inspections of taxicabs by the City ceased when the Consumer Affairs Division of the Public Health Department was eliminated in the 1990-91 City Budget. The current regulations governing taxicab operations were drafted in such a way as to transfer the responsibility for compliance to the franchise holder, The City retains the fight to verify that the taxicabs are in compliance. The ordinance provides that taxicabs "may be inspected periodically by the City at such intervals as may be established by the City Manager," The franchise holder, however, is required to conduct periodic inspections of each taxicab at least once each month. Taximeters are"subject to inspection and testing at any time by the City." The franchise holder is required to test each taximeter at least once every twelve (12) months. At the present time the City does not have personnel or resources designated for taxicab inspections. rell There is no evidence of any problems related to the safety or the condition of taxicabs in Fort Worth, nor have there been any problems with inaccurate meters. Annual inspections of taxicabs by the City would not improve the quality or safety of taxicab service in Fort Worth. It is recommended that annual inspections not be reinstated, Complaints Placards displaying a Fort Worth telephone number to call for complaints have been placed in all taxicabs authorized to operate in Fort Worth. Additionally, procedures have been adopted to facilitate communication of the complaints received by the City to the taxicab companies. A copy of the form used to record complaints is attached. Complaints related to taxicab service have decreased sharply. Six have been investigated since July, and in only one instance was the taxicab company found to be at fault. Holders of taxicab franchises are required to file an annual report with the Supervisor of Public Utilities showing the average number of taxicabs operated during the previous calendar year. Copies of the most recent reports are attached. The data concerning the number of complaints received is not required, but was provided at the request of the Public Utilities Supervisor. ........... ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8102 "P Rio January 6, 1998 �otop To the Mayor and Members of the City Council page 2 of 3 �� U Aq a9*a" n°Rp Subject: TAXICAB REGULATION ISSUES 1873 On an annual reporting basis, problems with taxi service may not be brought to the City Council's in a timely manner. It is recommend that the reporting requirements for the taxicab companies be changed to a quarterly basis and that the City Councilmembers receive a copy of the quarterly reports. Analysis of the Number of Taxicabs With 170 authorized taxicabs, the ratio of taxicabs to population in Fort Worth is 0.35 per 1.000 population, however, Fort Worth cabs also provide service in Arlington, Hurst, Euless, Bedford and other cities in Tarrant County. There are 75 taxicabs licensed by the City of Arlington to another company. Counting these, the effective taxicab ratio for Fort Worth citizens is 0.19. Table I summarizes the results of a survey taken by the City of Dallas on the number of taxicabs operating in various cities. The mean ratio of taxicabs to population is 1.19 taxicabs per 1000 population. If only cities with a population less than one million are considered, the mean ratio is 1.25 taxicabs per 1000 population. Cities located in the Southwest appear to have a lower ratio. The mean ratio is 0,72. Table II gives the taxicab/population ratio for four cities in the Metroplex. Because many of the taxicabs operate in more than one city, a mean ratio from Table II is not meaningful. Based on population ratios, a city the size of Fort Worth (pop. 485,000) would be expected to support 577 taxicabs. The International Taxicab Association (ITA) has reported that airport traffic represents approximately 20% of the total taxicab service. Taxi passengers to Fort Worth from DFW Airport are usually transported by cabs based in Irving or Dallas. Taking these factors into consideration, the expected number of taxicabs in Fort Worth would be reduced by 10% to 520. If the larger cities are excluded, the expected number of taxicabs for Fort Worth would be 540. If only the Southwest cities are compared, the expected number would be 314. The number of taxicabs authorized by most of the cities is determined by "public convenience and necessity." Some, like the City of Dallas, allow open entry. Assuming that the economic factors are the same throughout the Metroplex, there is no reason to believe that under an open entry system the number of taxicabs in Fort Worth would not approach 1000. One city, Austin, has tied the number of authorized taxicabs directly to population. Their formula is: No. of Warrants=Population/ 1200 It is based on the taxicab/population ratio at the time the formula was adopted. The number of authorized taxicabs in Fort Worth would be 404 under Austin's formula. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER — - — FORT WORTH,TEXAS--- INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8102 G�QFORr,,� January 6, 1998 , ,, p�oFo To the Mayor and Members of the City Council for ', c-8 ep,�o Page 3 of 3 Subject: TAXICAB REGULATION ISSUES 1871 The City Council only has indirect control over the number of cabs which will operate in the city. Market demand will establish the actual number of taxicabs. Even when the franchise holders were authorized to operate up to 350 taxicabs, there were only 120 in service. Public demand for service is just one component of the market demand. Taxi drivers have to weigh the costs of operating their taxicab against their expectations of a reasonable return. Taxi fares are uniform throughout the metroplex. Stand fees - the fees paid to the franchise holder by the drivers - are not. The stand fees charged in Fort Worth are consistent with national averages, but they are higher than those charged taxicab companies in other parts of the metroplex. Fort Worth drivers have to make more trips to earn the same amount of money. A view expressed by some of the drivers who have appeared before the City Council is that drivers in Fort Worth are short-changed. Stand fees are not regulated by the City, nor should they be. The franchise holder sets the fee to cover operating expenses and provide a profit. While the number of taxicabs in Fort Worth appears to be low in comparison with other cities, complaints from the public have subsided. Indications are that the demand for taxicab service is now satisfied. It is recommend that complaints continue to be monitored and that they be reported to Council on a timely basis. The number of authorized taxicabs may be adjusted based on feedback from the public. r Bob Terrell City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER -- - FORT WORTH,TEXAS- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMPLAINT FORM Date Name Address Phone Utility Account Number Nature of complaint: Action taken: -4 V W ...1� ..1 1 1J L✓ '„G,L Y V V V V V!.,V U� I IV JV ..l •-.V I4U .vvI r,. .vz LPN No a ANN 10 W -MI17 mommmmammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmMOMMEMAM -1 'YELLOW CAB COW f A 0.Box 1510 Fort Worth,7X 76101 J January 10 , 1997 CITY OF FORT WORTH AMAL TAXTCAa REPORT YELLOW CAS 1996 1. Average Taxicabs Operated Daily: 92 low 79 high 99 2. Written Complaints Received: 2 3. Average Calls Dispatched Daily: 1623 4. Average Available Toxicabs Not Operated: 6 5. Number of Damage/Injury Claims filed; 24 6. Number of Claims 6ettleds 9 7. Number of Lawsuits Pending Against holder: 1 CIKER C,A►R COARANY P.0.am 1510 - Fat ward4 T m 76101 Motto$17.429.1610 - Pax$17.533-74$0 January 10 , 1997 Iz CITY OF FORT WORTH i ANNUAL TAXICAB REPORT CHBCKBR CAB 1996 1. Average Taxicabs Operated Daily: 47 low 40 high 50 Z. Written Complaints Received: 1 3. Average Calls Dispatched Daily: 739 4. Average Available Taxicabs Not operated: 2 5. Number of Damage/Injury Claims Filed': 9 6. Number of Claims Settled: 5. q/5 ''// 7. Number of Lawsuits Pending Against.'2older: 0 TABLE I TAXICABS PER 1 ,000 POPULATION CITY POPULATION TAXICABS CABS PER 1000 POPULATION Atlanta 396,551 1,500 3.8 Boston 547,725 1,565 2.9 Baltimore 702,979 1,150 2 Orlando 176,948 352 2 Chicago 2,731,743 5,600 2.1 Dallas 1 ,022,830 1,700 1.7 New York 7,333,253 11,920 1.6 Detroit 992,038 19310 1.3 San Francisco 734,676 856 1.2 Houston 1,702,088 1,937 1.1 Charlotte 437,797 450 1 San Diego 1,151,977 871 0.8 Philadelphia 1,524,249 1,450 1 Austin 514,013 433 0.8 Nashville 504,505 345 0.7 Portland 450,777 317 0.7 San Antonio 998,905 602 0.6 Indianapolis 752,279 460 0.6 El Paso 579,307 250 0.4 San Jose 816,884 , 411 0.5 Milwaukee 617,044 322 0.5 Los Angeles 3,448,613 11150 0.4 Phoenix 1,048,949 1801, 0.2 SOURCE: Transportation Division Dept. of Economic Development U.S.Census bureau, July 1994 population estimates. City of Dallas TABLE 11 Metroplex Cities Taxicabs Per 1000 Population CITY POPULATION TAXICABS CABS PER 1000 POPULATION Dallas 1,022,830 1,700 1.7 Fort Worth 485,000 174 0.4 Arlin ton 292,8501 1561 0.5 Irving 172,6001 5501 3.2 Note:The same taxicabs may be permitted to operate in more than one city.