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City of Anaheim Taxi Franchise
Taxi Advisory Committee (TAC) Recommendation Report
The TAC was established to review the two submitted proposals and recommend which applicant(s) best meet the criteria set forth in the RFP. The TAC carefully reviewed both proposals based on the following rating criteria:
Company experience 10 points
Management experience 10 points
Financial capacity and stability 15 points
Management and Quality Assurance 30 points
Facilities and Equipment 25 points
Fleet sustainability 5 points
Fleet accessibility 5 points
Total Possible Points 100 points
Below is the final scoring for both proposals and final allocation of taxicab permits.
PROPOSALS SCORING
Category 24/7 Taxi Cab California Yellow
Company experience (10 pts) 8.2 8.9
Management experience (10 pts) 7.8 9.3
Financial capacity and stability (15 pts) 10.2 11.4
Management and Quality Assurance (30 pts) 22.2 27
Facilities and Equipment (25 pts) 19.8 23.2
Fleet Sustainability (5 pts) 2.9 4.6
Fleet Accessibility (5 pts) 5 5
Total Average Score (100 pts) 67.9 80.5
ALLOCATION OF TAXICABS
24/7 Taxi Cab California Yellow
50 205
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Proposal details by category
Company experience
Each company must have a minimum of five years experience in full service taxi operations and similar transportation company experience. Provide an organizational chart showing entire personnel reporting relationships from management down to the drivers.
California Yellow Cab Company
The committee appreciated the documented experience they provided in their proposal. The experience with the City of Anaheim showed the company has expanded their fleet and drivers and capacity is at 2019 levels with travels to the area. They also have strong partnerships with SNA airport and OCTA’s Same Day Taxi program.
24/7 Taxi Cab Company
The experience with the City of Anaheim showed they have a smaller operation than California Yellow and currently only have forty-eight (48) vehicles in their fleet. They also have strong partnerships with supportive medical transport services in Orange and San Diego County.
Management experience
Experience and qualifications of the senior officers and managers of the company and all other staff proposed to manage taxi operations in Anaheim. Factors that were evaluated included scale of operation, nature of planned responsibilities with a description of approximate percentage of time devoted to each task and managing service in Anaheim.
California Yellow Cab
The management team has a high level of experience, and the scale of operation was provided.
Current management has gained knowledge and experience from Yellow Cab of Greater OC managers.
24/7 Taxi Cab
While the committee appreciated a family run business, the provided organizational chart had limited information on the strength and depth of their team.
Financial capacity and stability
This category includes the proposer’s ability to finance the ongoing taxi operations; past capital expenditures and plans for future purchases of information technology; marketing; and revenues from existing operations. Proposed expenses were also evaluated to ensure they seemed reasonable 10/18/2022 3
to operate their proposed fleet. Proposers were asked to disclose any pending litigation, liens or claims involving the company or its principals that could materially impact the ability to provide service. Information regarding insurance coverage and history was also requested.
There was a change during the proposer’s conference at the request of the proposer’s that due to time associated with audited financials, proposer’s requested that the city accept filed tax returns in lieu of audited financials which was accepted by the city.
Due to proprietary confidential information, the City’s Audit Division reviewed the financials submitted by the two proposer’s and below is only a high-level indication of each of their financial positions from Pass or Fail.
Internal Audit ranked the financial capacity and stability of the respondents to the Taxi RFP using the information provided in their proposals. California Yellow provided tax returns for three years, balance sheets, P&L statements from 2020-2022 and 24/7 Taxi provided tax returns for three years, which Internal Audit used to calculate and analyze basic standard financial ratios for each year provided. They also reviewed any qualitative information provided in the proposals that was relevant for determining financial capacity and stability. Based on the review, Internal Audit prepared a spreadsheet that summarizes each company’s results using the rankings of Pass, Fail, or Inconclusive. 24/7 Taxi Cab’s final overall ranking was “Fail”, and California Yellow Cab’s overall final ranking was “Pass”.
California Yellow Cab
The proposal outlined a large and stable operation with stable fleet and staffing. It was mentioned there were late payments to the City of Anaheim Business License Division for the franchise fees in the past, which was a concern for the committee.
24/7 Taxi Cab
Tax documents were the only financial statements provided and they showed a loss every year. Based off the financial information provided and the need to replace some older vehicles in the near future the TAC committee had a level of concern with 24/7’s financial capacity. Some members requested to decrease the number of franchises below 50, but was advised the minimum number awarded, per the RFP is 50. It was discussed that if they could not maintain their 50, what is the process to terminate what a franchise that is not performing.
The committee came to agreement that since their concerns were visible in the audit report, they would be willing to provide 24/7 the opportunity to prove their financial stability with being awarded the minimum number of franchises of 50.
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Management and Quality Assurance
The RFP required all proposers to submit a business plan. This plan must address how taxi service will be provided throughout the City, not just in the Resort. The plan was required to address technology, training, service measurements, managerial procedures, and marketing. The TAC was especially interested in whether the proposed practices were already being successfully implemented by the proposer. The RFP also included some specific criteria. For instance, drivers must wear a uniform, the dispatch system must include a GPS module; and there must be a complaint procedure. Both proposals had computerized scheduling and automated dispatching with GPS. Below are some key quality assurance components from each proposer.
California Yellow Cab
The committee agreed that California Yellow has a well defined business plan with past and proposed methods of managing supply and demand to ensure vehicles are safe and clean. The substantial number of vehicles and experience in Orange County was nicely portrayed in the proposal. The software used and information provided was done in a professional manner. The training documentation was well presented along with a driver motivation program. 24/7 Taxi Cab
The training documentation was well presented in the proposal. The iCabbi software system appears to provide a streamline tracking and servicing for client experience. The committee felt 24/7 Taxi has limited marketing efforts and no motivational programs for its drivers.
Facilities and Equipment
This category focuses on the capabilities of the company’s telephone and dispatching systems, maintenance operation, and vehicles.
California Yellow Cab
The committee appreciated the well-established, large fleet with a high percentage of newer vehicles. They provided documentation on how they manage and maintain their vehicles. They use a technology platform called NTS-national Taxi Service, which is an end-to-end technology system from dispatching, cashiering, and fleet operations to in-vehicle technology. 24/7 Taxi Cab
Their general office is located in Anaheim. Plans for newer vehicle purchases are projected to happen in 2023. The committee had concerns as to whether or not new vehicle purchases could be accomplished in a timeframe needed to be in compliance with the franchise. 24/7 Taxi uses a dispatch system called iCabbi and has an in-house IT/Marketing person to run stats. 10/18/2022 5
Fleet Sustainability
The City of Anaheim was honored with the Eco City Award by the Orange County chapter of the U.S.
Green Building Council based on cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings offering City incentives and assistance with green development, Council sustainable goals, LEED Certified and other criteria. To continue this effort the City’s Taxi RFP included a requirement for 50% of each taxi fleet to be “green taxis” by mid franchise year. Below is how the proposers responded.
California Yellow Cab
The low emission vehicles listed has an average vehicle age being less than 8 years. The committee felt the company would have no problem in immediately handling service calls and provide the level of service required by Anaheim. There was a concern of 9-10+ year vehicles not in service in Anaheim being intergrade into Anaheim.
24/7 Taxi Cab
The high number of 10+ year old vehicles and not having a fully prepared fleet was concerning to committee members. The committee felt the age of the vehicles would require a large investment to upgrade the fleet. Twenty percent of the fleet are green vehicles with a goal to purchase 10 hybrid vehicles in 2023. The percentage of green vehicles are considerably lower than California Yellow cab.
Fleet Accessibility
Proposers are to identify and explain how they will be able to meet the 5% of their fleet to be ADA wheelchair accessible requirement and provide transportation for disabled customers. Below are their responses. Both proposals addressed special training for providing this type of special needs service to the customers.
California Yellow Cab
California Yellow Cab currently has 42 ADA accessible vans in their fleet, which exceeds the minimum requirement of the RFP.
24/7 Taxi Cab
Members felt that 5% of vehicles outfitted with ADA requirements was the minimum. No plan to increase that number was outlined in the proposal.
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Over all Committee Comments and Concerns with the Proposals California Yellow Cab
The proposal provided was clear and led to an easy flow through the questions and categories in the RFP. The addition of the company’s guidelines showed the professionalism and attention to detail that Anaheim is looking for. The corporate culture was translated easily to the committee members in the proposal.
24/7 Taxi Cab
The proposal provided was not as organized and difficult to follow at times. The smaller family business model made it seem like the level and standard of excellence expected in Anaheim would be difficult for them to achieve. The committee felt that if they were awarded too many franchises, they would be struggling to maintain standards.
The committee recognized the need and desire to have more than one company providing taxi service to avoid a monopoly and create healthy competition to maintaining the high standards Anaheim is looking to maintain.
TAC Recommendation
That the City Council award California Yellow Cab a taxi franchise for 205 taxicab permits and award 24/7 Taxi Cab a franchise for 50 taxicab permits.