Cambridge taxi drivers won a partial victory last week when Yellow Cabs of Cambridge announced that its proposed sale of 52 taxi licenses to Ambassador Brattle Cabs was off averting a near monopoly of taxi cabs in the city.

Just nine days before the Cambridge Licensing Commission was set to decide the matter, attorneys for Yellow Cabs on Friday told chairman Mary E. Calnan that they were withdrawing their client's request for the transfer.

"We have no comment whatsoever as to our reasons or our motives. Murray G. Shocket, the legal counsel for Yellow Cabs, said yesterday.

"My client was not particularly pleased," said Robert G. Kline, an attorney for the proposed buyers.

Last month, the city council authorized the appointment of an independent investigator to look into "all charges relating to the operation, ownership, and governance of the taxicab industry in Cambridge," according to the council recommendations.