TAC Interim Report: Brain Storm

TAC welcomed Richard Hybels of Metro Cab as a small company councilor replacing Athon Rebelos who, in turn, moves over to take Jane Bolig's position as the Desoto rep. Jane is apparently retiring from cab politics for awhile.

The subject for the day was supposed to be the Interim Report to which Barry Korengold of the SFCDA added an Amended Interim Repot.

But, before the discussion really got underway, Dan Hinds Of National Cab tried to speed up the process by motioning for an immediate vote on whether or not to continue selling medallions to persons 70 and over or disabled and, if the vote was "yes," to have a second vote on whether or not to expand the program to 60 year olds. He also had two other votes in mind if the first two passed.

Instead of speeding thing up, however, the conversation bogged down trying to find a precise definition of the motion. I'll spare you the gruesome details but it reminded me of a freshman philosophy class. ("Perhaps - but how do we know we know what reality is?") After an hour and a half of hair-splitting debate and obfuscation, Dan Hinds no longer understood what his motion was and withdrew it.

During a short break, a driver who was attending the meetings for the first time, walked out muttering, "These guys are deciding our future? The effing idiots can't even take a vote."

When we returned from break, it was a whole different ball game. Chairperson Chris Sweis, with a dazzling display of leadership, took control. He said that the Taxi Advisory Council not only represented the the taxi industry but also "served the public." He said that it was more important to do the report right than fast. He suggested that they begin by making a list of all recommendations that council members thought would improve the cab business.

What follows is the complete list - including several ideas from the general public:

Now all they have to do is put this list into a coherent whole and chose the best options.