Tariq Mehmood, Me, And An Anonymous Taxi Driver. By John Han.

Photo by John Han.

This essay is a response to an anonymous person's comment made to this blog.  The comment was made on the essay titled, "Proposal For Taxi Service Improvements, Open Taxi Access (OTA)".  

Here is the full comment, but for time's sake, I'm only responding to the portions addressed specifically to me...

"Barry and others, it is not your permit fees alone but all kind of money which will be used to buy you OTA. Barry your cab I guess is in Royal cab now and Royal do have Cabulous. Royal is on Cabulous, is that not enough. Now you will say that oh,no, now I want OTA. Tomorrow you will say that is not enough, you need another service.

Correct, get your checkbook out and buy it and enjoy the fruits. Tell all your friendly cab 
companies to stop their dispatch or share money pool and buy OTA, none of them will do it then why Yellow and Luxor should do it. 

John Han--are you really driver's representative. 

You came from the back door and is now trying to hang on. I have never seen one single person with you. Go and follow your fellow driver Tariq who must have spent thousand of dollars and enormous amount of time to revoulationize the drivers movement. What you have done ?? Was you sleeping when 5 % credit card charge, back seat terminals and all other matters were passed. You could have used TAC forum and if necessary you could have gone to the drivers to inform them of what is going on in the industry. Don't steel from other people. Start telling these companies to pay 
for OTA and not by MTA where money belongs to all of us too."

Taxi drivers are the lifeblood of this industry and all of them deserve an honest response.  So Anonymous, here's my answer to you.  I don't claim to be right, only that I'm being honest.  

"You came from the back door and is now trying to hang on."

This is a fair perception, but it is an erroneous one.  I am not trying to "hang on", or maintain or protect my place on the TAC.  As a sentiment, I am not married to my position there.  I am on it.  Therefore, I will keep putting forth an honest effort to perform my responsibilities.   If people think I'm doing a good job, great!  But if not, then call for my replacement.  I don't care.  I don't measure my position of prominence based on my seat on the Council.   

But there's something you should remember.  There are some 7500 taxi drivers out there and all of the many diverse views out there will not be adequately represented by the six "driver reps" on an advisory council.  That's a problem that I'm sure we could both recognize, and it's not my fault.  

Fixing that would most likely involve something more than just trying to get things done through the TAC, as the TAC is quite limited in its powers.  You seem like you might be a smart person so you should know that without having to have me tell you that. 

As for coming onto the TAC through the back door,  I'm not sure what you mean so you'll have to be more specific as to what you mean.  

Photo by John Han.

"Go and follow your fellow driver Tariq..."

I do in many respects.  I supported Tariq's efforts to protest the 5% credit card fees, rear seat PIMs, and other matters, and I still do.  I hate PIMs and 5% credit card fees and I want them to go away.  I am appalled at the MTA for these policies. 

I consider Tariq's energy, time, and money that he put into organizing the protests against these issues, and to talk to drivers and send out flyers to be an example to everyone in this industry who wants change.   A lot of people in this industry hate Tariq, but I am not one of those people, and am not necessarily one of his critics.

There are many who find his deliverance in public meetings to be bullish, abrasive, or worse, and some of those feelings are justified, because he is often bullish, abrasive, or sometimes worse.  But I try to stay focused on what I feel is more important.  As far as I can see, the protests of recent months hastened the MTA's approval for a meter increase.  And those protests were mostly put together by Tariq.  

Therefore, everyone who hates Tariq for some of his mannerisms and delivery, mainly have him to thank for the meter increase they have been wanting and now have gotten.  There are reasons to think that if it wasn't for the protests, a meter increase would not have been approved until late in the year or early next year.  Most of his critics would not bring themselves to openly admit to that but it's true. 

But he should stop it with the personal attacks against Christiane Hayashi, and calling for her head on a platter.  No one's perfect.  And Tariq isn't perfect either, nor am I.  It is fair that you offer your criticism of me, but Tariq is not immune to criticism either.  He can be criticized.  

Therefore, I will follow Tariq on issues that I think matter.  But I will not follow him on issues that I think are frivolous and don't matter.  

"You could have used TAC forum and if necessary you could have gone to the drivers to inform them of what is going on in the industry."

I agree.  I am using all the opportunity that I can to use the TAC forum.  But here is the reality that has to be dealt with.  The 5% credit card fees, rear seat PIMs, and electronic waybills were approved by the MTA before the TAC even existed.  So the TAC forum appears to be contrived sometimes, or sometimes rendered useless at best.  

Also, I have three times put in requests to Taxi Services to provide us with the data that it looked at that would show that rear seat tip prompters increase a driver's tip percentage.  The MTA used this claim as a selling point to drivers, claiming that tip prompters would not only make up for the 5% credit card fees, but would increase a driver's tip percentage inasmuch as drivers would earn more money.  

Naturally, I am skeptical.  

The MTA must have looked at convincing data for this.  But it doesn't appear to have it.  I have requested copies of the data three times so we too could be convinced of it.  But so far, Taxi Services has not provided it.

If Taxi Services does not provide the information by Monday's June 13th meeting, it would be the third time I have put in a request with no results back.  If that's the case, then what am I to think?  Taxi Services is either refusing to give it to us, or it doesn't have it and never thoroughly reviewed such data in the first place.  I can't say for certain, but my guess is that it's the latter.  On Monday's June 13th TAC meeting, the MTA will either not have the data again, or it will have data that it produced very, very recently in an attempt to appease the request.  

As for your call for me to inform drivers of what's going on in the industry, you're right.  I could've done more.  I'll admit that.  But so could you, whoever you are.  

But having said that, I'll add that just because I'm on the TAC doesn't mean that I have to be the primary taxi activist in all of San Francisco that everybody looks to for action.  Tariq is a powerhouse of an organizer.  I don't always think he's right, but he's by far the most effective organizer in San Francisco and a force to be reckoned with.  There are a few others in the industry who are also effective organizers.    

If I had my way, I'd expand the TAC to include Ed Healy, Tariq Mehmood, Mark Gruberg, Tone Lee, and Ruach Graffis.  That is, if those particular people would want to be on such a council.  

And whether people want me on it or not is really none of my business.  If you like me, then support me.    If you don't, then remove me.  I am not attached to the position.