![\"Screen](\"http:\/\/speakcityheights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Screen-Shot-2015-07-14-at-12.02.38-PM.png\")
<\/a>\nCabdriver Adane Anjulo thanks San Diego Councilwoman Marti Emerald on July 14, 2015 for her work reforming the taxi industry. | Photo Credit: Megan Burks<\/span><\/p>\n
By Megan Burks<\/span> A car lift in the Barrio Logan trolley yards hoists about 1,000 taxicabs a year for Metropolitan Transit System inspectors. They check the vehicle’s underbelly and roll the tires looking for nails and worn tread before certifying it for the road.<\/p>\n But Tuesday morning’s inspection was special. News cameras and city leaders were watching to see if cabdriver Adane Anjulo’s car would pass.<\/p>\n If it did, Anjulo’s taxi, which he named Kidus Cab after his son, would become the first to get a permit under new rules that deregulated San Diego’s taxi industry.<\/p>\n “Today is the day that many taxi drivers have been looking forward to for a very, very long time,” said Councilwoman Marti Emerald. She and United Taxi Workers of San Diego pushed for reforms after hearing from drivers about how operating costs had swelled under a city cap on taxi permits \u2013 depressing driver wages and shutting out those who wanted to start their own cab companies.<\/p>\n Emerald’s reforms cleared their final administrative hurdle in February. Since then, about 1,300 individuals have inquired about the new permits, said MTS Taxi Administration Manger Bill Kellerman. He’s brought on two new field inspectors and will add two more to the garage to handle the influx of applications.<\/p>\n The only remaining snag for drivers looking to abandon their leases with cab companies and drive for themselves is a legal challenge. A coalition of existing permit holders has sued MTS, saying the reforms have robbed owners of hefty investments \u2013 the limited supply of permits were selling on a black market for as much as $150,000 each \u2013 and that MTS should have done an environmental study before approving more cabs.<\/p>\n A judge denied their request for an injunction in April, saying the environmental complaint was “unsupported.” The complaint is still pending, but the group’s attorney moved to drop the claim that MTS illegally took their property.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n