These included representatives from: the International Association of Transportation Regulators (IATR), the Greater California Livery Association, the SFMTA in the persons of Deputy City Attorney Mairam Morley and Taxi and Accessible Services Director Christiane Hayashi, the City and Country of San Francisco, the Center For Accessible Technology, Hailo Cab, the Taxicab Paratransit Association of California, Uber, Sidecar, Lyft and the Personal Insurance Federation of California.
Numerous cab drivers or former cab drivers also signed up to present including Carol Osorio for Green Cab, Anne McVeigh, Mark Gruberg for the United Taxicab Workers , Robert Cesana for the Medallion Holders' Association, Barry Korengold for the San Francisco Cab Drivers' Association, Keith Raskin, Carl Macmurdo, Charles Rathbone for Luxor Cab, Tara Housman, Dan Hinds for National Cab, Dmitry Nazarov, Christopher Fulkerson, William Minikel, Peter Kirby and myself.
Many of the cab drivers have been at each others throats for years and I'm no exception. It should be interesting to see the lot of us more or less defending the same point of view for a change. Maybe we'll even get together for dinner and drinks. That hasn't happened since 2010.
Of special note is the presence of former Mayor Willie Brown, who is fronting for a Sidecar wannabe named Tickengo, with a plan to effectively deregulate the taxicab business and, incidentally, raise the cost of personal auto liability insurance for everyone in the State of California.
If anyone out there has any fresh ideas on the subject please send them to me as (short) comments to this post. If I like them, I'll see if I can include them in my presentations.
Hey Ed,
ReplyDeleteYour comments to the CPUC were brilliant. That is undercover journalism at it's best. And with humor that made me laugh out loud. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to root out those rotten bastards with the pink mustache. If your comments don't sway the PUC then I give up on humanity. I hope you post your comments on your blog. And the the ones from UBER. They had their cold lawyers draft their responses and it was mind numbing legal mumbo jumbo.
This has got to be the biggest threat the taxi industry has every faced. It is such a shame that Mayor Lee is quiet on the issue. When one of these Mustache cars causes a fatality, every body will be screaming about how the city let down the public by letting these unregulated cars operate. The city and PUC has the chance to stop them now before it's to late.
Erik
Erik: The Mayor has not been silent on the issue. See minute 43 during the State of the City adress: http://www.youtube.com/mayoredlee
ReplyDeleteIf anybody know at what point the mayor comments on Uber etc. please post. I can't wade through 113 minutes of nonsense from that sidekick of Willy's to find it. I'm guessing it has his blessing if Willy is on Lyft's payroll.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they will tie liability to legality and this will turn the tide for the cabs; but as it stands right now, cab industry as it is TOAST. There are so many limos and side cars and what evers picking up out there right now , it is incredible. Like a feeding frenzy , I am even going to look into seeing what it costs to get tcp license, and get going with the limo business.. On a side note I see some really dumpy cars now with the tcp licensee on them kinda comical.
ReplyDeleteThere is a a kinda of moral irony to all this in how evil the city did the cab drivers on the waiting list , and now their coveted medallions are worth what half of what they were?
If I just paid 300,000 for a medallion I would be asking for a reduction in my price from the city.
Dear Director Hyashi,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link to Mayor Lee on youtube. I was unaware of this.
Erik
Whats Hayashis point, the mayor mentions Uber and promotes it and that's it. The MTA have killed this business. O and by the way excuse me I meant to say "Dear Hayashi"
ReplyDeleteDave, the mayor also praised Lyft and Sidecar (or did you watch that far?), both of which have been operating illegally. Why do you feel a need to attack someone for pointing this out? This is called "shooting the messenger", and is considered quite stupid.
ReplyDeleteIn my haste to judgement I had thought Miss Hayashi was on the side of the Mayor, my error, my bad, my stupidity and my apology.
ReplyDeleteNow what was the mayor thinking? Oh, I guess he wasn't.
ReplyDelete