Results tagged “taxi”

A lot of people have been getting a kick out of seeing the signs posted in Hollywood and other parts of town explaining how (not) to hail a taxi. For those who know the drill of reaching your arm up and leaning towards the street and hoping the next cab pulls up to the curb in front of you, the signs are precautions about what for many urbanites is second nature.

It was last month on May 17th, 2 a.m. when a 31-year-old female hailed a cab in front of Ecco in Hollywood to grab a ride home. Armen Ayvazian was her driver, according to the LAPD, and when she got home, he allegedly followed her inside where he sexually assaulted her. Detectives caught up with the North Hills man last week and arrested him without incident. But police believe there are more victims out there and if you recognize him (a photo of his cab is below), give the police a call.

Bell Cab introduced the city's first hybrid taxis in Los Angeles today in what politicians hope is the just the first of many in the city's fleet of 2,303. Controller-Elect and current Transportation Committee Chair, Councilmember Wendy Greuel requested the city to create a green taxi plan and today challenged other cab companies to follow suit. "Taxi's in Los Angeles might be different colors on the outside, but my goal is for them all to be green on the inside," she said.

LA has a diverse cast of characters. Whether it's the characters with stirring stories or interesting occupations or the people who are just simply characters, this town has them all. In an effort to get to know some of those characters a little better, we've created "Seven Questions with..."

There are plenty of websites that will be your "what to do" guides in Hollywood, but only one will tell you how to get there and what obstacles you'll face. If know Hollywood Boulevard, you know street closures for movie premieres and other events happen often. And that's NavigateHollywood's strongest point:

The LAPD will be releasing a composite sketch later today of a taxi cab driver that they say "targets lone females and is responsible for at least 5 sexual assaults." There have been a series of sexual assaults that occurred between August and December of last year. This is reminiscent of a two-part CSI:NY episode where the serial killer taxi driver would trap people in his car and take them away.

Along with a moratorium on foreclosure-related evictions, the LA City Council yesterday also passed a three-month moratorium banning any new signs (billboards, supergraphics and the conversation to digital billboards) for three months while the City Attorney and Planning Department draft permanent changes to the City’s sign ordinance to better regulate advertising in the City.

It's nearing the end of the six-month hail-a-taxi pilot program for downtown and Hollywood and taxis are apparently still hanging out at taxi stands and not cruising streets picking up fares curbside. In July, the city temporarily lifted limits on where a taxi can pull over to pick up a passenger--usually a ticketable offense.

There's only 120 taxis operating in Burbank, but twenty of them have been hybrids since May. Cities across that nation have already started programs (NYC plans to have all 13,000 taxis to be hybrid in 5 years) but Los Angeles is a little behind with its 2,303 fleet. "We're researching the issue very carefully. We want to do it right," said Tom Drischler, taxicab administrator for Los Angeles, to the LA Times in the Burbank hybrid article. "We really want to get something going this year. We hope to present a program to the Board of Taxi Commissioners this fall." One hurdle for officials to solve is the safety partition, which is hard to put in a hybrid. Before they were mandated, a cabbie was being murdered about every 18 months.

Will Los Angeles start feeling more urban and navigable for pedestrians in downtown and Hollywood? Yesterday, the city council approved a 6-month pilot project to allow taxis more freedom of where to pick up and drop off customers. Basically, they just can't block bus stops, but handicap and red zones will be fair game. Blogdowntown reports one taxi driver's sigh of relief. We're just excited to be able to cruise from the Arts District to South Park at night with ease.

On Wednesday, the City Council will be voting on a six-month taxi cab pilot program for downtown and Hollywood. But the Department of Transportation has a concern, according to a report (.pdf) of theirs: "There is a possibility that during peak hours, key lanes of traffic could be impeded by taxi operations generated by the pilot program." LA Times Road Sage Steve Hymon translates: "They're scared silly of anything that may slow down some bloke in a car."

• Q: How is the San Fernando Valley like 1950's Mississippi? A:Apart from the wide lots, racism is once again rearing its ugly head. Hate crimes have nearly doubled so far this year from the same period last year with Jews and blacks taking the brunt of the attacks.
• Q: When is it time to say goodbye to your dog? A: How about when you spend $20,000 looking for your lost pooch, which one Encino man has spent the last four years three-weeks in his ongoing search for fido.
• Q: When is it going to become easier to hail a taxi in Downtown L.A.? A: Soon, if a Hail-a-Taxi pilot program, previously approved by the city's Taxicab Commissioners, is implemented.
• Q: How do some people adapt to life after war? A: By winning the Mr. California pageant, which a 21-year-old Iraqi war vet from Seal Beach did recently.
• Q: How will Obama do in California during the general election if (and when) he faces McCain in November? A: If a recent LA Times/KTLA poll is any indication, pretty damn well.
• Q: When are politicians just like us? A: When they also face home foreclosures, as is the case with Long Beach Rep. Laura Richardson. She reportedly lost her Sacramento home in a recent foreclosure auction and has defaulted on properties in Long Beach and San Pedro.

This one is a little hard to wrap your mind around. A taxi driver transporting two women to the Ramona Gardens housing project in East LA ended up in a situation when he stopped to drop them off. Daily News explains:

It's going to be a long time before any of this happens. If it happens. LA Mayor Villaraigosa and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom might go head to head for Governor. Both deny it though. A little closer to home, two bloggers debate over annexation and other issues in the Santa Clarita Valley. Should Stevenson Ranch, which has the highest sales-tax-revenue-generating strip mall in all of the county's jurisdiction, annex into the city of...