Tariq - Or Actions Speak Louder Than Words.

Note the irony. Tariq Mehmood, who proclaims himself to be the "powerful and great leader of the drivers" siding with Yellow Cab in trying to remove Deputy Director Christiane Hayashi.


Of course Yellow, Luxor, Town and Checker, not the drivers, would be the major winners of a successful Hayashi coupé.


There are several reasons for this.

• These cab companies coerce their drivers to tip and Hayashi has made this practice a $5,000 misdemeanor. She recently started busting limos. Enforced tipping and other illegal company activities are also on her hit list.
• The recent meter increase did not include a gate increase. The companies, especially Luxor, blame Hayashi who drafted the legislation.
• Hayashi helped create and has promoted Open Taxi Access (OTA) which Luxor and Yellow hate.
• Yellow and Luxor want 500 taxis to go to them - now. Hayashi doesn't want to put cabs out without public hearings.
• John Lazar of Luxor wants himself and his two sons to be given medallions without following the rules. Hayashi thinks medallions should only be given to working cab drivers.

I could go on and on but the bottom line is that Yellow and Luxor are used to running the taxicab industry through backdoor politics and Hayashi has created a culture of transparency through her Town Hall Meetings. For the first time, medallion holders and regular taxi drivers (not just the owners) have a say in how their business works.


So, why is Tariq Mehmood, "the driver's advocate," lining himself up with guys like these?

Well, fact is - he's done it before. Awhile back, when Yellow Cab was trying to force their drivers to pay $2,000 or $3,000 in gates a month in advance, Tariq attacked the UTW which was fighting to stop the pre-payments. Mehmood later backed legislation at the Board of Supervisors raising gates and ratifying gate overcharges. This did Yellow a tremendous service.

Why he did this? I can't say.

On the Back-seat Terminals: Some Facts?

There is a lot to be said about the back-seat terminals (photo) currently being installed by National, Luxor and Yellow Cabs. Some of it might even be true. (See TaxiTownSF.)

But there are some misconceptions.  I don't claim to be an expert but I will try to clarify a few points.

1. It's not a TV, it's a video terminal and a card swipe.  According to Chris Hayashi, it will have no audio. It will, however, carry advertisements and public service messages. I don't know if it can be turned on and off by the customer.

2. The taxi companies WILL NOT pay for the terminals. The vendors will pay for all equipment and pay for their costs out of the fees collected and advertising revenue.

3. The cab companies WILL NOT share any advertising revenue with the drivers. The vendors will get 90% of the profits above the installation costs and 10% will go to the Drivers Fund.

4. The taxi companies ARE NOT currently allowed to be merchants for credit card accounts ( for obvious reasons), although some companies are requesting the SFMTA to be allowed to be merchant account holders themselves.  The actual cost of the merchant account is closer to 3%, so there is potential profit involved.

5. Despite it's prominence in the field, Verifone will probably not be the only vendor. Any company that meets certain standards set by the MTA could qualify. CMT and Wireless Edge are also planning to compete.

6. Although drivers are required by law to take credit cars, I notice that there is no regulation that says that a driver MUST use a specific credit card cashing system, especially since the drivers are not employees. Drivers are free cash them anywhere or any way they like.

• Many drivers - especially those at Desoto Cab already have their own merchant accounts.
• For drivers with smart phones Square - which is a free and charges 2.75% - is a good option.
• There are other companies on the market with similar or possibly lower rates such as Obopay which claims to charge only 1.5% per transaction and doesn't need a swipe.
• I understand that the Russian speaking lady near Checker Cab will still be happy to cash receipts for 10%.

7. Taxi companies have the option of not putting in the terminals in which case they are responsible for paying to cash the credit card receipts.

Credit Card Charges: Illegal

It is currently illegal for taxi companies to charge drivers for cashing credit card slips. Period. 

Illegal? So what?

The illegality of credit card charges means little to the hundreds of cab drivers who are forced to pay fees as high as 10% or 12% to get cash back for their receipts.

Taxi Services Enforcement and Legal Affairs Manager Jarvis Murray, in fact, is looking into complaints against various taxicab companies for charging their drivers fees to cash their receipts.

Jarvis said that it is an ongoing investigation so he couldn't give me the names. But he did say that Luxor Cab, Yellow Cab and Green Cab do not charge for cashing the slips.

In any case, the anonymity of the offending companies will end soon.

At the last TAC meeting Councilor John Lazar of Luxor Cab insisted that Director Christiane Hayashi provide the names of these companies to the council and she agreed to do so at the Monday 3-14-11 meeting.

As a preview, I've been told by drivers that Royal, Town Taxi and Checker have all been charging 10% for the service.

At Checker, drivers go to a shed on the property where a Russian speaking woman cashes the receipts. Royal drivers were being sent to the same shed but rumor has it that Royal isn't using her services anymore. Town Taxi has recently reduced it's charge from 10% to 5%. Regent Cab, the other hand, discourages it's drivers from taking credit cards - also a violation of the rules.

Since the fees from the credit card companies are usually 3% or less, the Taxi companies are making themselves a hefty profit from these exchanges - with the money, of course, being taken from working drivers.

Many drivers simply don't take credit cards for this reason, putting themselves at risk for citations and and annoying the public.
  
Tmw - The new backseat terminals and legal charges.