Have you ever called a cab to pick you up in Culver City only to be told the the company you've called can't do it? That's because, at the moment, only five taxicab companies have a valid taxi business permit with the city. Without a such a permit, a cab can drop you off in Culver City but not pick you up.

The current permit holders are:

United Independent Taxi Drivers Inc. hold 120 city decals. -- 1-800-822-8294
Beverly Hills Cab Company holds 60 city decals. --  1-800-273-6611
Independent Taxi Owners Association holds 50 city decals. -- 800-LA1-TAXI 
Culver City Yellow hold 20 city decals (raised to 30 on Monday) -- (310) 838-2121
A White and Yellow Taxicab Inc. hold 15 city decals (but has not used its permits in many years).

However, thanks to the Culver City Council, two more companies will soon have that ability. At last Monday's meeting, the council voted to add:

All Yellow Taxi, Inc. was granted 30 city decals -- 800-900-0033

and Taxi Taxi! (owned by TMAT Corp,) was granted 75 city decals -- 310-828-2233

The issue engendered a lively debate as to whether adding additional permits would improve taxi service in Culver City or have the opposite effect. Some argued that more permits in an an already-saturated market would tend to force drivers to circle out of the city for their fares, possibly causing longer waiting times. Still, there were no votes against the item (with Mayor O'Leary abstaining.)

If all the granted city decals are redeemed by the companies, the city will receive $16,090 per year from All Yellow Taxi and $39,850 per year from Taxi! Taxi! (TMAT Corp.) Both new applicants have paid a one-time $1,000 application fee for the processing and consideration of their taxi business permit applications. Annually, each taxicab company must pay $250 to maintain their taxi business permit. Additionally, for each city decal the following fees must be paid:

• $400 per year for annual taxicab inspection and licensing (per cab)
• $30 per year annual taxicab driver licensing fee (per driver)
• $30 per year annual business license tax (per business)
• $68 per year livescan fee (per driver)

All Yellow Taxi, Inc. has been in business since 1997. They operate a total of 90 taxicabs in Los Angeles County, including 28 Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles and 2 ADA Wheelchair Accessible Vans. 

TMAT Corp., dba Taxi! Taxi!, has been in business since 1997. They operate a total of 65 taxicabs in the City of Santa Monica where they have been operating for over 21 years. Santa Monica recently converted from an open taxi system (allowing any company to obtain a permit) to a franchise system where only a few companies would be allowed to operate. They went through a comprehensive study and review process, and Taxi! Taxi! was one of the companies awarded a franchise. The company claim to be in the process of converting to a newer and more energy efficient fleet of vehicles.