Taxi driver George Stepanian was stuck idling again, inching toward the front of the stand at 7th and Figueroa streets in downtown Los Angeles.
In other cities, cabbies prowl the streets for customers trying to hail a ride. But not in L.A., where some of the toughest regulations in the country make the practice very difficult in many of the busiest neighborhoods.
Stepanian admits he occasionally picks up a passenger hailing a cab on a quiet street when no one is around but never during rush hour, when no-stopping zones are strictly enforced along many of downtown's busy streets.
"I don't risk it," Stepanian said. "I cannot afford another ticket."
As a result, many L.A. cabbies spend more time idling than driving. Bill Rouse, general manager of Yellow Cab of Los Angeles, said his cabbies spend up to 60% of their time waiting around at taxi stands for customers.
But as L.A. becomes increasingly dense, there's growing interest in creating a taxicab culture here, particularly downtown and in Hollywood, where more and more people are moving about on foot and where it's so congested much of the time that it's unpleasant to drive.
Councilwoman Jan Perry has asked the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to consider reworking its rules to allow cabs to pick people up in red zones and other areas where it's now prohibited. Officials are considering a pilot program downtown and in Hollywood. Last week, a group of city officials went to San Francisco to study that city's new rules aimed at making it easier to hail a cab. L.A.'s taxicab administrator, Tom Drischler, who was on the trip, said he hopes to have a proposal ready for the City Council by summer.
If new rules mean getting out of line and onto the street, it can't come soon enough for Stepanian and his fellow cabbies.
"What people want is what they want in any other big city -- to step out of the courthouse, step out of the Music Center, think, 'Oh, I'm wearing high heels and my feet hurt, I want to get a cab,' " Perry said. "Why should that be a big deal?"
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Contrary to urban myth, it is not illegal to hail a cab in Los Angeles. But it is illegal for cabbies to pick up passengers in bus zones and red zones or along busy streets when no-parking regulations are in place. During rush hour, many of L.A.'s biggest streets become "No Stopping" zones, meaning cabbies cannot pick anyone up without risking a ticket.
