MTA to Regulate Taxi Industry

I've long complained about the sorry state of the taxi system here in San Francisco, having spent several Friday and Saturday nights having to walk to or from my destination because there were no cabs. According to this article in the examiner, the Board of Supervisors has voted to put the taxi industry under the supervision of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, and I say it's about damned time. While the MTA doesn't have the best track record in general, it's at least a recognition that taxis are part of the public transportation infrastructure, and need to be regulated as such.

My main hope is that they will finally bring some quantitative data to the decision-making process for putting more cabs on the street. Medallion holders have long resisted this because medallions have become a commodity resource that they control, and can profit from, but they have always held that more cabs mean less money for working cabbies. However, no one really knows what the size of the market is for taxi services, and we've relied for far too long on anecdotal information from people who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. My guess is that a study of the market would show that it's much, much larger than previously described, and more cabs won't mean fewer fares for those driving them.

More Cabs, Bring 'em On!

According to this article in last week's Examiner, the Taxicab Commission is considering the addition of 69 new cabs to the city's fleet, bringing it up to a total of 1500. Here's an interesting quote:

A push to add more cabs followed the release of a recent commission report that revealed half of the people who call for a cab during the week are left stranded. On Friday evenings, those who call for a cab never see one 95 percent of the time.

Hmmm, gee, finally a report that confirms what almost every person who wants a cab on a Friday or Saturday night already knows - you can't get one!

Of course, a flak for a a local taxi union insists "'There are too many cabs for San Francisco residents alone. Not enough when conventions and tourists are in town, but they’re not all the time here and we need to survive all year,” said Thomas George-Williams, chairman of the United Taxi Workers, a group representing a few hundred cabdrivers."

Wow, really, how about standing on the corner of 18th and Castro at 9PM on Friday and telling me that? Right now the current system only benefits those who hold medallions (the people George-Williams represents) at the expense of the residents of San Francisco and those who would like to make some money by driving a cab but have to pay extortionary fees to medallion holders for the privilege. You want a cab on Friday night at 2AM? Then let the Taxi Commission know how you feel about it, and tell them to put more cabs on our streets.