Health Plan Proposal
Gets Board Hearing
A committee of the Board of Supervisors has held the first of several expected hearings on a Taxi Commission proposal for a cab driver health care plan. United Taxicab Workers has been advocating for the plan since the board set the wheels in motion to create it in 2003.
At the Rules Committee hearing, which lasted over a hour, Executive Director Heidi Machen presented the commission’s proposal to committee members Tom Ammiano, Sean Elsbernd and Aaron Peskin.
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Healthy S.F. Plan to Open Enrollment

Healthy San Francisco, the city’s new universal health care plan, is scheduled to open its enrollment to all residents Jan. 2. Residents can enroll, regardless of income or immigration status, if they are 18-64 years of age, have not been insured for at least 90 days and are not eligible for other government-sponsored programs such as Medi-Cal or Healthy Families.
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Alioto-Pier Wants Gate Cap
Of $110 for Large Companies
Two years ago, the Driver’s Worst Enemy Award went to then-Supervisor Fiona Ma, who tried to do away with the gate cap.
This year, the odds-on favorite is Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, who has introduced legislation to raise the cap at “full-service” companies from an average of $91.50 to $110. If you’re working five shifts a week, that’s going to cost you almost $5,000 a year.

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Luxor Switches Gears on Leasing, Imposes Credit Card Surcharge
Luxor Cab seems to have abandoned its plan to go to long-term shift leasing. The announced starting date of Sept. 1 came and went without a peep from management.
Maybe that’s because the same scheme has proven unsuccessful at Yellow Cab. Relatively few drivers have signed the new Yellow leases, which require payment of gates by the month in advance, plus a security deposit.
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New Law Allows Cutoff of
Limo Operators’ Phones
Limousine operators that don’t include a permit number in advertisements of their services could have their phone service cut off under a new state law. San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno authored the legislation at the request of limousine companies concerned about unlicensed competitors.
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Mayor Gavin Newsom has called for the entire fleet to be composed of low-emissions vehicles by 2011. The proposed new rules would not fully achieve that goal, but would go a long way towards it.
The recommendations were discussed at a commission hearing on Oct. 23. The commission is expected soon to decide on emissions standards and a recommended gate increase to help pay for vehicles meeting the standards. The gate hike would have be approved by the Board of Supervisors.
United Taxicab Workers opposes the proposed gate increase of $7.50 a shift, as it would result in...
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Mayor Pushes for Centralized Dispatch
in Annual Address
For the second year in a row, Mayor Gavin Newsom has devoted a significant portion of his annual State of the City address to taxi service. And for the second straight time, he has called for a centralized dispatch system as a centerpiece for improving service. He also asked for an expansion of taxi stands, especially at transit hubs, and a Taxi Rider’s Bill of Rights to be placed in every cab. He repeated his previous proposal for a transition of the entire fleet to low-emissions...
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Want to Make This
A Better Job? Pitch In.
By Dave Schneider
There are those who say just be happy, go along with the big company bosses and everything will be fine.
Got a reality check, got benefits, making a living wage in San Francisco? Are you working to live or living to work?
Doing your part to organize?
We’ve all got brains and eyesight but some have blinders.
While the past may not be a guide to the future, cabbies were in a union until we got decimated by selfish Reaganism in the late ’70s and early ’80s, when UTW had to pick up the pieces...
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D.A. Bringing
Criminal Charges
Against Limo Violators
At the request of Taxi Commission staff, District Attorney Kamala Harris has agreed to pursue criminal charges against some limousine operators acting illegally as taxis. Sgt. Ron Reynolds of the Taxi Detail says that several arrested limo drivers have recently been referred to the D.A.’s office for prosecution.
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Let’s 311 Them to Death!
What do you do when you see a limo or town car picking up a passenger on a flag? Or when you spot one of the same parked in a hotel white zone, waiting patiently for a signal from the doorman?
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