Bradley Signs Ordinance Upgrading Taxicab Service

Tank tops, cutoff pants and rude behavior are outlawed in a sweeping new city taxicab regulation ordinance signed into law Monday by Mayor Tom Bradley.

The ordinance, approved unanimously last month by the Los Angeles City Council, sets up the city’s first system of fines for misbehavior by cabdrivers.

It also establishes a new taxi school, where aspiring cabbies must undergo training and veteran drivers must attend refresher courses. The curriculum will include “communication skills” and “passenger relations,” as well as tips on neatness and proper grooming.

“Anyone in this city who places a call for a cab ought to be able to get one within 15 minutes,” Bradley said at a press conference Monday. “When that cabdriver arrives, he ought to be neat, he ought to have a basic minimum standard of dress, he ought not be wearing tank tops or frayed pants.”

Drivers face fines of up to $500 and their companies or cab associations can be fined up to $100,000 if they accumulate enough penalty points under an elaborate disciplinary system that will be administered by the city’s Department of Transportation.

The ordinance will take effect in mid-March, and drivers who violate regulations will begin accumulating penalty points in April.

Drivers must provide passengers with “customer courtesy cards,” on which they may evaluate the driver’s behavior, appearance and performance.

Complaints may be filed by passengers or by investigators for the Transportation Department, which also will monitor cabs to see whether they respond within 15 minutes of a passenger’s request. Fines may be imposed for late responses.

The city expects to collect about $15,000 a month in fines, which will be used to pay for the cab school.

Councilman Joel Wachs, who began pushing for the cab school last summer, said Monday that the impetus came from “horror stories” related by his mother and constituents interviewed at senior citizen centers.

“People do have a right to expect prompt, courteous and efficient service,” Wachs said. “The good drivers have nothing to fear.”

Wachs said that complaints about the new ordinance have generally come from cabdrivers “who are going to have to be whipped into line.”

The ordinance also authorizes 188 additional cab licenses, bringing the total number in the city to 1,346. In addition, tougher vehicle inspections and maintenance standards will go into effect.

The eight taxicab companies and associations operating in Los Angeles agreed to the reforms last summer in exchange for renewal of their franchises without competitive bidding.

Bradley said that anyone dissatisfied with cab service may file a complaint with the Department of Transportation by calling (213) 485-2758.

(Southland Edition) ETIQUETTE FOR CAB DRIVERS The new ordinance outlines these rules for dress and behavior: * Drivers must wear clothes that are neat and clean and must be well-groomed at all times while on duty.

* Drivers may not use a “loud” or “boisterous” tone of voice when soliciting passengers.

* Drivers must be courteous at all times.

* After a polite request from a passenger, a driver must cease “unwanted conversation.”

* Drivers may not refuse to pick up anyone except when they already have been dispatched to another call, the potential passenger behaves in a threatening manner, or there is a reasonable expectation that the passenger may cause the cab to become “stained or evil smelling.”

* Drivers may not refuse to transport foldable wheelchairs, guide dogs for the blind, luggage, groceries or small pets in carriers.

* Drivers must help passengers with their luggage if requested to do so.

* Drivers may not smoke if a passenger objects.

* Drivers may not enter bars or cocktail lounges, except to announce their arrival to passengers.