Anaheim’s latest attempt to squeeze more money from its visitor economy has stalled before reaching voters: The City Council declined to advance a proposed 10% tax on Uber and Lyft trips into the Disneyland resort and parts of the Platinum Triangle. The charge would have averaged about $2 per ride, turning a short trip to the parks, Honda Center or Angel Stadium into a small but very visible municipal toll.
The proposal would have gone before voters in November and was expected to generate about $3.6 million a year for Anaheim’s general fund, according to the Los Angeles Times. City staff estimated roughly 1.5 million annual rideshare trips to nonresidential areas of the Anaheim Resort, plus another 240,000 trips in the targeted parts of the Platinum Triangle.
The measure arrived as Anaheim continues searching for new revenue while managing a sizable budget gap. The City of Anaheim said in June that spending would outpace incoming revenue by about $45 million over the coming budget year, while the city was also drawing on $31.4 million from the 2024 sale of its interest in a parking structure near the Hilton Anaheim and Convention Center.
Workers Became The Tax’s Biggest Political Problem
The proposal’s weak spot was not necessarily the tourist headed to Disneyland, but the hotel, restaurant and convention workers who use rideshare to get to and from shifts. Councilmember Carlos Leon told the Times that an average $2 charge might not deter a visitor, but could add up to roughly $30 a week for a worker commuting by rideshare.
Councilmember Norma Campos Kurtz raised a similar concern about late-night hotel employees traveling home to neighborhoods just outside the resort, where proposed exemptions might not have protected them. Uber and Lyft opposed the measure, with Lyft warning that higher fares could reduce trips and push some riders into private cars, potentially worsening congestion.
Anaheim’s Shuttle Shutdown Raised The Stakes
The rideshare debate also landed after Anaheim Regional Transportation ended all transit service on March 31. The Anaheim Transportation Network says its ART system has concluded operations, leaving visitors and hospitality workers with fewer direct options around the resort and sports district.
That transportation vacuum gave Uber an obvious argument against taxing rideshare trips: The companies are no longer just competing with buses for tourist dollars, but increasingly filling gaps left by a discontinued local shuttle network. Hoodline previously reported on the ART shuttle shutdown, which pushed nearby cities and hotels to consider replacement service.
Mayor Ashleigh Aitken closed the discussion after no councilmember wanted to call for a formal vote, so the measure will not appear on the November ballot. Aitken said the city could revisit the idea in a year or 18 months, meaning Anaheim’s search for visitor-funded revenue is paused rather than permanently parked.
