The
San Francisco Chronicle reports that AAA Northern California is reducing their presence in Northern California by more than 10 percent, from 300 to 265 by the end of the year, and requiring operators to cover greater distances than before. Cynthia Harris, a AAA spokeswoman, said,
"We will be reducing the number of contract stations and awarding a larger volume of calls to a fewer number of stations."
This has caused many small stations to saw they will go out of business. In addition, reimbursement rates from AAA have changed so that, in the words of J. Lance of R. Lance and Sons who had a 31-year contract with AAA to cover the Livermore Valley,.
"I walked away when I knew I wasn't going to get the rate to cover the costs," said Jeff Lance, owner of R. Lance & Sons, who had a 31-year contract with AAA to cover the Livermore Valley. "It's going to be a trying time for us," said Lance, who has already laid off 12 employees and sold a number of trucks as a result.
