City Considers Allowing 2nd Taxi Operator in the Valley : Transportation: Officials say more competition would help cut response times. The existing cab service’s owner blames a powerful lobbyist for the plan.

City officials, pushed by a powerful City Hall lobbyist, are considering granting a second taxi company permission to operate in the San Fernando Valley because they say a study indicates the existing taxi franchise holder responds too slowly to calls for service.

Los Angeles Department of Transportation officials have recommended that a second company be allowed to work in the Valley to improve cab service, now provided exclusively by Valley Cab Co.

The proposal is supported by Councilman Hal Bernson, who sits on the council’s Transportation Committee, and Mayor Tom Bradley’s office. Ex-councilman Art Snyder, one of the city’s most influential lobbyists, is representing a Burbank-based cab company that is seeking the second franchise.

Valley Cab, with authority for a fleet of 96 cabs, has the city franchise to operate the only taxi service in the Valley portion of the city of Los Angeles.

A recent, partially completed study shows that one-third of the time Valley Cab drivers failed to arrive to pick up customers within 15 minutes of phoned requests. The test was conducted by transportation employees placing calls for rides and timing the response. The results show that the firm is operating “well below standard,” according to a Department of Transportation report.

Of 108 test calls, drivers arrived within 15 minutes 67.7% of the time. The city’s eight franchise cab companies are required to arrive within 15 minutes 76% of the time. Companies violating the standard can be fined.

The results, however, cannot be considered statistically valid until 71 more calls are made, said Ed Rowe, the city’s transportation chief. The Transportation Commission, on a motion by Commissioner Nathan Chroman, voted Thursday to put the issue on hold until Jan. 3. The commission wants its staff to have completed the study by then.

Valley Cab President Lloyd Conway charged in an interview Thursday that city complaints about his company arose only after Snyder entered as a lobbyist for Babaeian Transportation Co. Inc.

Babaeian is a Burbank-based company that operates about 100 cabs in Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena and is seeking to become the second taxi company in the Valley.

“Our troubles began when Art Snyder was hired,” said Conway, who said he is the victim of political intrigues. On Thursday, Valley Cab also filed a lawsuit to block any franchise award to a second firm.

“Nonsense,” said Francine Oschin, Bernson’s transit deputy, when asked about Conway’s allegations. But Oschin said Snyder’s advocacy “turned a little light on in people’s heads” that Valley Cab was not doing the best job.

“We’re not saying Valley Cab is a bad company,” Oschin said. “What we believe is that competition is healthy and will sharpen up the service for Valley cab users.”

Other indicators suggest that Valley Cab’s quality of service is about on par with the city’s other franchise-holders. Records show that six of Valley Cab’s drivers were cited for violating Department of Transportation rules during May and June, 1990, the most recent period for which full monthly reports are prepared.

A spot check of other cab companies Friday showed a similar rate of citations. For example, during May and June, 20 citations were brought against LA Taxi. While LA Taxi had about three times as many citations, it also operates about three times as many cabs as Valley Cab.

Nor are the number of citizen complaints filed against Valley Cab unusual. City records show that during the past 12 months, only 6% of the complaints filed were brought against Valley Cab, which operates 7% of the taxis authorized to run in the city.

Bill Bicker, Mayor Bradley’s top transit adviser, argues that a second franchise also is needed to handle the new demand for cab service likely to be generated by new transit programs for seniors and a program guaranteeing a cab ride home in an emergency for car-pool or van-pool commuters.

Meanwhile, the Babaeian firm has asked--with the support of the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley--that the city grant it the second franchise without going through the normal process of inviting other firms to bid.

Gil Archuletta, attorney in the Babaeian firm, told the city’s transportation commissioners Thursday not to punish Valley riders by going out to bid, a process Archuletta said would take nine months to complete.

Relief is needed sooner than that, he said.