Bhajan Bariana has been driving a taxi in Sacramento for seven years. He works for the Smart Cab Company and says Sacramento isn't a big enough city to keep every cab in business.

"Too many cabs here. Like there are 500 cabs in the city. So we are not able to sustain now, it's very hard.

Bariana blames the surge in taxis on rising unemployment.

"A lot of people, maybe they are laid off from a job so it's easy to start driving a cab here."

City officials say - while they want to keep a handle on the number of cabs on the streets, they also want to be respectful of free enterprise.

Dafna Gauthier is the city's Business Permit Manager.

"Most of them are independent operators and this is their livelihood. If we put the moratorium together they will not be allowed to bring anymore new vehicles into their associations."

She says the proposed two-year moratorium will allow city staff to explore regulations that would reduce the number of cabs.