The Orange County Taxi Administration Program (OCTAP) was formally established in 1998, and the City of Garden Grove became a member from OCTAP’s inception. OCTAP is a voluntary association of Orange County Agencies created to coordinate taxicab service, permitting, and other administrative functions. The member agencies, which include all of the Cities in the County and the County of Orange, have contracted with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to administer a program of taxicab service regulation in compliance with Government Code Section 53075.5. Section 53075.5 requires cities to adopt taxicab regulations that at a minimum provide for the licensing of taxicab operators and a system of random drug/alcohol testing to protect the public health, safety and welfare. Prior to 1998, the City coordinated taxicab regulations on its own.

The OCTAP Steering Committee, on which the City has a representative, holds quarterly meetings to review taxicab operations.  The Steering Committee identified aspects of the existing regulations that warranted revision, and has approved various amendments to the OCTAP Regulations. The purpose of the regulations is to increase the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of persons utilizing taxicab services within the member agencies. The Regulations authorize the Steering Committee to adopt administrative regulations, while substantive revisions require the approval of the legislative bodies of all member agencies. 

Each member agency has been asked to adopt by resolution the revised OCTAP Regulations.

Since its inception, OCTAP was designed to be funded entirely through permit and license fees collected from taxi operators and drivers. With the arrival of transportation network companies (TNC), such as Uber, Lyft, and others, the marketplace has greatly reduced the number of taxi permits in the county, which, in turn, has reduced revenues and, thereby, created a financially unsustainable condition for OCTAP as it has traditionally been funded.

In October 2017, Governor Brown signed into law new taxi regulation legislation (AB 1069; Chapter 753, Statutes of 2017).  Under AB 1069, only those certain cities and counties where taxicabs are “substantially located” are permitted to regulate taxicabs, unless the cities form a joint powers authority or enter into an agreement with a transit agency for administering or regulating taxicabs.  The new law prompted discussions between OCTA, the Orange County City Manager's Association (OCCMA), and OCTAP stakeholders.  The OCCMA queried all OCTAP member agencies which then unanimously agreed to request that OCTA continue to administer OCTAP beginning January 1, 2019, for an initial term of two years (term may be extended upon agreement among the parties). In addition, estimated costs for all participating agencies were also agreed upon using a population-based cost sharing model.

The updated regulations are intended to implement the new cooperative agreement, streamline the regulation of taxicab operators consistent with AB 1069, and continue to protect the health, safety and welfare of persons utilizing taxicab services in member agencies.