The "Terror" of Taco Trucks?

The New York Times June 15 edition ran a story about a proposal to ban taco trucks from the city of Salina, California. Salinas is home to 31 licensed mobile and stationary catering vehicles, most of which are taco trucks. Storefront restaurants are leading the charge to shut them down, claiming that "trucks had an unfair competitive advantage, fostered urban blight, blocked traffic and were sometimes unsanitary." I'm not so sure.

Unfair competition? It is obvious that taco trucks are likely to enjoy lower overhead than a posh brick and mortar restaurant. But consumers know what they want and get what they pay for. If you get lunch from a taco truck, you have to eat it outside (Salinas gets kinda hot in the summer) or take it somewhere else. It's like Mercedes complaining that Hyndai has an unfair competitive advantage. Advantage? Sure, in terms of costs. Unfair? Not clear.

Urban blight? One person's blight is another person's beauty, or at least vitality. If aesthetics is really the concern of the restaurateurs, the problem may not be with trucks as a category, but with the trucks that are not well maintained. A ban would throw out the baby with the bath water.

Blocked traffic? I confess I haven't seen Salinas' trucks in action. But one can't help wondering how much traffic is being blocked and for how long. Is the purpose of streets solely to move traffic along as fast as possible? I thought streets were also there for the drop off and pick up of people and goods. Some stopped traffic is part of the deal. In any event, surely the city could stripe curbs for the trucks to get them out of the flow of traffic at minimal cost.

Trucks are Unsanitary? Oh, and the brick and mortar restaurants are always spic and span? Trucks at least have nearly the same shot as restaurants at good sanitation, since trucks can refrigerate and heat perishable food, and carry hot water for washing hands and utensils.

The New York Times article reports the claims of some that the move to ban taco trucks is really about suppressing legitimate competition and racism against mostly latino-immigrant truck operators. Similar claims were made last year against restrictions on taco trucks in Santa Ana, California. Those restrictions were struck down in two lawsuits in state and federal court. Santa Ana's restrictions were much more mild than the outright ban now contemplated by the city of Salina. The city should tread lightly.