Do In-Taxi Cameras Really Deter Crime? Another Taxi Driver Robbed. By John Han

Photo by John Han.

Verifone video cameras installed on the windshields of taxis are most likely saving cab companies and  insurance companies a lot of money on accident costs.  Those cameras can record exactly what happened during an accident and indicate who was really at fault.  That also can save a taxi driver's job.

But I'm not sure I'm convinced that they're doing as equally good of a job in deterring crime, even though it is claimed that they do.

A Yellow Cab driver was robbed late during the Saturday night shift, March 12, 2011.  Yellow Cab posted a notice on the wall warning drivers to be careful out there.  According to the notice, the driver dropped off at Palou and 3rd St. at 2 am.  Then, two twenty something men jumped in the cab and were vague about their destination.  After that, one of the men pulled out a gun and demanded the money.  The driver was not injured but lost some $400 and a cell phone.  

I hope the SFMTA will deal with safety issues around cab drivers, and give its discussion equal priority as it is giving to the sale of medallions and franchise peak permits.  It is too easy to offer answers such as, "cameras deter crime".  I doubt the cab driver who was robbed Saturday would agree with that.

CREDIT CARD CHARGES & OTHER COLOR SCHEME EXPENSES, by Wes Hollis.

Wes Hollis is proprietor of Executive Cab.  He sent in this article as a response to Ed Healy's blog, "Credit Card Charges:  Illegal"

I have had a merchant credit card account for 10 years.  My lease drivers pay their gate fees with their credit card sales.

My credit card processer is NPC in Louisville, KY.  NPC handles Visa, MC, and Discover.  American Express does their own credit card processing.  My monthly cost with NPC is 7.5%.  My monthly cost with American Express is 10%.  I have the monthly statements to back up these figures.  This past month my credit card processing expense was $175.00.

Yet, I have never charged my drivers for these fees.  I give them 100%, dollar for dollar credit on their credit card sales.

SF Taxi Driver Dean Clark And Others Rally At City Hall. By John Han.

(Video by Tony Derenzo)
San Francisco taxi driver Dean Clark and a handful of supporting taxi drivers came out for a small and short rally in front of City Hall Monday, March 7th.   Dean Clark was struck by an uninsured motorist in 2010, and so far claims that medical costs have not been paid for by Workers' Compensation. Clark's story is covered here.

My opinion is that these types of rallies must involve larger numbers of cab drivers, and be better organized in order to sway public opinion, and have more meaningful legislative influence.  Until then, I hope that the SFMTA will hear this small cry.

Have You Gotten A Parking Ticket?

Photo by John Han.

What cab driver hasn't?  Here's a fun and interesting link that a driver sent in, on how to fight a San Francisco parking ticket.

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS on how to fight a SF parking ticket.

The Phantom Cab Driver Phites Back, by Ed Healy

Thanks to Ed Healy for the recap on Tuesday's Board of Supervisors Meeting...

Supes Pass Watered Down Enforcement Against Illegal Cabs et al

At yesterday's Board of Supervisors meeting, the board unanimously voted to pass their watered down version of legislation making it a misdemeanor to operate an illegal taxis or limo, or to solicit or accept payment for referral of passengers, or assignment of shifts or dispatched calls, or other illegal activities that suck money off of legitimate cab drivers and both cheat and endanger the general public.

The Supes voted to okay their own amended version of the ordinance that lessened the penalties that the police can give from $2,500 and $5,000 to $1,000.

Read More

California's Workers' Comp Laws and San Francisco's Taxi Industry, A Cab Driver's Experience. By John Han

SF Taxi Driver Dean Clark.

The following is a highlight and recap of a discussion I had with SF taxi driver Dean Clark.

Clark is a gate and gas taxi driver working night shifts at National Cab.  Clark alleges that in April of 2010, his taxi was struck by another vehicle driven by an uninsured motorist at 8^th St. and Minna, in which he had suffered, and still suffers from injuries unaccounted for today.  Here are the highlights of the accident, and the details of what later took place with the cab company, as they have been relayed to me.

In April of 2010, Clark was driving southbound on 8^th St. in the far right lane.  A woman in another car was heading westbound on Minna.  She attempted to crossover 8^th St to get to the other side of Minna, but in doing so, struck the front driver’s side of Clarks taxi, causing the taxi to spin.  Clark says that upon impact, the taxi’s seatbelt locking mechanism had failed, and that no airbags were deployed because the vehicle did not have any.  Consequently, Clark’s head hit the front windshield, and as the car spun, also hit the side window, causing blurred “temporary blindness”, for several hours.

Why Cab Drivers Are Poor. An Analysis of SF's Taxi Industry. By John Han.

Photo by John Han.

(Originally published January, 2011)  Portions of this essay are edits from a previous essay I wrote but was not published.  It was  submitted to SFMTA Taxi Services Division.  Here's an edited, published version... 

INTRODUCTION:

Taxis play a major role in San Francisco’s transportation and local business economy.  Tourism, conventions, hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, sporting and concert events all benefit from the industry’s services.

For some, taxis are one of the few viable options of getting around, such as senior citizens and the disabled using the Paratransit program.  And for many others, taxis can provide casual and safe alternatives to the risks of drunk driving (Anecdotally, in major cities, cab drivers may prevent more fatalities and injuries resulting from drunk driving each weekend than any other profession in the country or the world). 

Unfortunately, despite the importance taxis play in most major cities and in the lives of many, taxi drivers themselves have bleak hope for being able to secure a financial future.  Why is this?  Are cab drivers lazy?  Are negative ‘cabbie’ stereotypes true?  This essay is an attempt to analyze the concern from an ordinary cab driver’s perspective.  I hope readers will read it through (though lengthy) and hopefully gain some insights, and maybe help in ways to improve it.

TAXICAB INDUSTRY DECISION-MAKING (and RULE-MAKING) CONSIDERATIONS PRIORITIES LIST (The hierarchy of considerations that should be used by regulators when making rule revisions). By Wes Hollis.

Wes Hollis is proprietor of Executive Cab

1. Obeying (to the best of your knowledge and ability), California DMV rules and regulations.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD CAB DRIVER. By Wes Hollis

Powell St.  Photo by John Han.

Wes Hollis is proprietor of Executive Cab

Use this self-evaluation form to see how you stack up in cab company management's eyes.  If you score 21 or higher, you are a "keeper" in their eyes.  If you score 25 (100%), you're probably a saint, not a cab driver.

1. Communicates well in English, with comprehension.

2. Is in reasonably good health.
1. Is a non-smoker.
2. Doesn't have any self-destructive habits or addictions (e.g., gambling, alcohol, drugs).

3. Always dresses neatly when driving the cab.

"Gypsy Cab" Phrase Is Racist And Insulting To Romani People, And More. By John Han

Serbs and Gypsies who have been rounded up for deportation
are marched to the Kozara and Jasenovac concentration camps

The word "Gypsy" often used in the pejorative "gypsy cabs", to describe the illegal taxis in San Francisco is a racist slur.  It should no longer be used by San Franciscans, or anyone anywhere, when referring negatively to what should be described as, "bandit cabs", or "pirate cabs"... taxi drivers operating illegally in San Francisco, and stealing fares from legal cabs drivers.

"Gypsy" refers to ethnic groups.  Even CBS San Francisco (KCBS) is guilty of using the phrase, "Gypsy Cabs" insultingly.  Here's Wikipedia's description of "Gypsy...

• Gypsy may refer, often pejoratively, to any of the following nomadic peoples:

·          the Romani people, the largest ethnic group popularly referred to as gypsies

o         Roma (Romani subgroup), a major Romani subgroup in Central and Eastern Europe

o         Sinti, a European subgroup of the Romani people

·          the Dom people, an ethnic group of the Middle East possibly related to the Romani

o         Lyuli, a branch of the Dom people of Central Asia

·          the Lom people, an ethnic group of East Anatolia and Armenia possibly related to the Romani

·          the Banjara, an ethnic group of India

·          the Irish Travellers (or Pavee), an ethnic group of Irish origin mostly found in Ireland, Great Britain, and the United States

·          the Ceàrdannan (literally "Craftsmen"), a ethnic group of the Scottish Highlands.

·          the Yeniche people, mostly in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and Belgium

• Sea Gypsies, a number of different peoples of Southeast Asia
  • (Wikipedia)

San Franciscans, especially taxi drivers, and all media should stop referring to illegal taxis as "gypsy cabs", because it is racist and degrading to people of various ethnic groups.  When referring to illegal cabs on the street, they should be referred to as "bandit" or "pirate" cabs.