SFO Airport Officials Citing And Arresting Ridesharing Drivers

[Newsjock]

Source: Bay City News Service

In the past month, San Francisco International Airport officials have been citing and arresting drivers from mobile-app enabled rideshare companies that pick up and drop off passengers, an airport spokesman said.

... Taxi drivers are holding a noon rally at San Francisco City Hall Tuesday to “keep taxis regulated and safe” and are calling for the end of ridesharing services.

... Dean Clark, a former taxi driver for nearly a decade, said authorities should not be targeting the rideshare drivers, but the companies.

He said the drivers are simply offering rides to people for a donation, and that unlike what the taxi industry claims, many of the drivers are working students, semi-retired people and single parents.

Read more: http://sfappeal.com/2013/07/sfo-officials-citing-and-arresting-ridesharing-drivers/

[Pretzel_Warrior]

1. this is bullshit. if people want to come together and break up the small group of taxis through

internet and mobile devices--more power to them. This is yet another example where advances in technology creating good solutions for regular folks has to be stopped by those negatively affected--they always go to brute legal tactics.

Same with music, newspapers, etc. etc.

[leftyohiolib]

2. "if people want to come together and break up the small group of taxis "

this is the charters schools logic to bust the teachers union and the public education system.
this is nafta's logic to bypass manufacturers unions
this is the logic behind the super-hiway from mexico to canada to bust teamster unions

[Pretzel_Warrior]

3. so what is wrong with Joe Retired using his car parked in his garage to

give someone a ride to the airport via a website matching car with needed ride?

I don't think this in any way is comparable to secret trade deals meant to undermine workers. The real scam is the amount the taxi drivers have to pay for their medallions. Anyway, there are plenty of needs for cabs not related to airport service.

you would rather Joe Citizen has to pay unfairly high rates when technology enables another option?

[Downwinder]

4. All it is is 21st century hitchhiking.

or electronic assisted hitchhiking.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

7. If it is like car sharing sites, people can rate users and car owners/drivers

and people can make informed choices about whether or not they are willing to go this route versus a more standard route of taking a yellow cab. Not the same as hitchhiking.

[Downwinder]

8. Still hitchhiking ... only safer. You know who is riding with you.

[leftyohiolib]

5. what's wrong with charter schools replacing public education

"you would rather Joe Citizen has to pay unfairly high rates when technology enables another option?" that's the formula for race to the bottom.
lack of regulations is a right wing meme

[Pretzel_Warrior]

6. why would you say that? do you believe in making your own clothes? bartering?

or other things? By my acceptance of ride sharing as a good idea, I am for charter schools? No, it's not even close. Most people who drive do a pretty good job of driving, and may take less risks than your typical taxi driver. Public education is a much more important and critical aspect of our society, and there is a reason it takes a masters degree level of education besides internships and continuing education--it is a very difficult job that should be handled by professionals who are paid accordingly. The Danish school system has teachers who are well thought of and highly paid with almost zero focus on teaching to tests and they have some of the highest academic achievement in the world.

So no....I don't think breaking up a stranglehold taxis have on things like airport rides is equivalent to public school system being obliterated by charters schools.

[Dreamer Tatum]

10. Some people's idea of progessivism is to maximize the number of people making a buck off you. nt

[Pretzel_Warrior]

11. what does this mean? theoretically, such car sharing sites could make money purely on ads

and the exchange of rider and ride could be absolutely free. This is cracking me up because it is clearly a democratizing effort and taking power away from established groups who dictate the terms, but in this instance...it's not progressive.

[Luminous Animal]

16. So, what happens when you end up with a driver who has no insurance....

gets in an accident and you, the passenger end up with life time injuries? - Those holding taxi medallions are heavily insured.

What happens when you live out in the boonies and no one wants to drive you there? - Cab drivers are required to take you to your destination.

What happens if you are picked up by a thief? Cab drivers are required to go through extensive back ground checks.

[leftyohiolib]

40. youre free to disagree

[Luminous Animal]

13. Mostly safety.

Cabs are required to be inspected regularly.

The drivers receive extensive background checks. (I WILL NOT ALLOW MY 20 SOMETHING DAUGHTER TO RIDE IN A GYPSY CAB - NEVER NEVER NEVER!!!!!)

Cab drivers carry heavy insurance so that if there is an accident and you the passenger become injured, the payout will be sufficient to cover your care.

Cab drivers are required to pick up everyone and take them to their destination no matter what sketchy neighborhood you may live in or how far the driver has to go.

Cab drivers are randomly drug tested.

Yes, I will pay higher prices knowing that I am being driven by a professional with the protections that come with that.

[KittyWampus]

25. Thanks for standing up for cab drivers. They get a lot of crap & work hard for their money.

[Luminous Animal]

27. You're welcome, Kitty. I know a few drivers and it's a tough way to make a living.

[leftyohiolib]

41. gypsy cab that good we called them jitney cabs - i stopped cause i didnt know what jitney meant and

i was afraid it meant something bad

[Niceguy1]

26. are the cats and drivers inspected

For safety like the taxis are? This in an illigitimate unregulated business, a repulican dream.

[Lee-Lee]

29. Being a scab is being a scab

These guys undercutting legit cab drivers is just as bad as the guy with a hammer and saw in his garage using it to do side work and take money from a union carpenter.

If you can't pay for it done by a real worker, working it the right way, then don't pay for it at all.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

32. wow. I can't believe you are saying that in these tough economic times

some regular person is just supposed to hire union only to do a kitchen remodel rather than a guy down the road who knows a bit.

[Lee-Lee]

35. If you believe in what organized labor means, yes

You can't demand others do what you won't. You then lose all credibility when you criticize.

You can't say "but those rules are only for the big guys" because they will point out they do it for the same reason you do.

What you are saying is "I support organized labor, but not when I need to hire somebody because that costs way too much." How much credibility do you think your support has?

In fact, your post is pretty much a right wing, anti union goons dream- a liberal saying union labor is too expensive to hire.

My biggest problem here in NC is I can't even find union labor to use, or I would.

[Hugabear]

39. Without organized labor, we'd be in much worse economic times

No minimum wage, no safety standards, no overtime, no child labor laws, etc.

[LeftyMom]

38. Joe Citizen can do that. Provided he gets PUC approval,

the appropriate insurance, an airport safety inspection and joins a DOT approved random testing pool. Otherwise he is operating illegally and probably undercutting the prices of workers that follow the law.

[Hugabear]

30. Why are you so against union workers?

Why do you favor unregulated drivers?

[Pretzel_Warrior]

33. are all of these taxi drivers union members? I don't think so. if a person has a driver's license

then they are regulated.

[Luminous Animal]

37. That is so blantently untrue that I cannot believe it.

Taxi drivers in San Francisco must attend a training school

They must also

1. Be free of any disease, condition, infirmity, or addiction that might render the applicant unable to safely operate a motor vehicle or that otherwise poses a risk to public health and safety.

2. Have the physical capacity to operate a motor vehicle for at least four hours per day.

3. Have no prior convictions of a crime that would, in the judgment of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), present a risk to public safety if the permit is granted, including but not limited to convictions involving sexual assault, the use of a vehicle in the commission of a felony, fraud, violence against a person, reckless disregard for public safety, two or more recent convictions of drug-related offenses, or two or more recent convictions of driving under the influence within the previous five years, whether or not such convictions occurred while driving a Motor Vehicle for Hire.

4. Attend a new driver pre-screening

5. Get fingerprinted AND have a background check.

6. Provide 10 Year printout of their driving record

7. Take a class and a test

[petronius]

9. I wonder how they know - are they setting up stings by calling for rides

and then citing the drivers? Do the cars have signs on them? Do they question people at the curb who appear unfamiliar with the person they're picking up?

I understand the objections to these services, but it seems that the airport authorities really ought to be spending their energies on things more directly related to the operation of a safe and efficient airport, and let the PUC and other relevant commissions deal with regulating taxi services...

[Luminous Animal]

18. The cars are identifiable.

Lyft uses big flufy pink mustaches on their cars.

[petronius]

22. Thanks, that makes sense. I did notice the fuzzy mustache

in the linked pic; just thought it was a car owner with an extremely questionable sense of style...

[Starry Messenger]

12. Good.

If people want to be cab drivers they can buy a medallion.

[Luminous Animal]

14. Yep. And they can get the background check...

the insurance, the drug tests, and the safety inspections that go along with operating a cab.

[Starry Messenger]

15. Yep. My husband drove cab for 10 years.

People who want to undercut the cabbies, who already get it coming and going from the cab companies, get no sympathy in this household. If people want cab reform, go after the monopolies, not the drivers livelihood.

It's the airport giving the citations anyway. The liability issues would be a nightmare.

"The airport had issued cease and desist letters to several rideshare companies, including Lyft, Sidecar and Uber, in April.

Since then, Yakel said airport officials, in conjunction with airport police, had been “admonishing” drivers that came to the airport.

Yakel said the companies are not permitted to offer their services at SFO and they are now being arrested for unlawful trespassing."



I'm not sure about SFO, but Oakland cabs who picked up at the airport had to have special permits.

[Luminous Animal]

17. They need clearance for SFO, as well. I think it's to make sure that there aren't too many

and at the same time, a steady flow.

[Luminous Animal]

19. I have only respect for cab drivers. It's a tough and often dangerous job.

[Starry Messenger]

21. The company owners are dicks, often.

I can understand people get frustrated with some of the shortcomings of cabs, but those things are not the fault of the cabbies. My dude used to tear his hair out at the fucked up things the company made them all do. He has a million stories. I'm grateful he made it out alive.

[Liberal_in_LA]

34. Thanks for the point of view of a cab family. Makes me look at this topic differently.

[Starry Messenger]

36. Thanks Liberal_in_LA

It's a stressful job. If you ever get a chance to talk to your cab operator when he's giving you a ride, most will tell you that they try to do they best job they can under adverse circumstances.

There's a lot of corruption back at the shop end, dispatchers sometimes sell good fares to drivers who learn that only "tipping" the dispatchers will get them jobs. Sometimes the dispatch will hold fares in a bidding war, making the customer incensed when he's held up (can't blame them).

Of course, the dispatch is sometimes paid less than minimum under the table by the owner of the cab companies. What the industry needs is more regulation, not less.

[geek tragedy]

20. cyber scab cabs nt

[Luminous Animal]

23. Yep. Young adults driving the cars the mommies and daddies gave to them

scabbing the working class who are trying to pay their bills and raise their families.

[geek tragedy]

24. Also, a kidnapping or worse waiting to happen nt

[Starry Messenger]

28. I'm just imagining it now.

You could wake up in Brisbane in a Motel 6 without a kidney.

If people wouldn't buy mystery meat from the back of a truck, I have no idea why they'd get into a car with a totally unknown quantity.

[MineralMan]

31. If you take money to drive someone

to SFO, you are a cab. If you are unlicensed, you are an unlicenced cab. You are also almost certainly not insured, since regular car insurance does not cover driving for hire.

It is flat out illegal.