Hilton
Protest on Hold
Pending Outcome of Talks
A
planned cab driver protest at the Hilton Hotel was postponed after
the hotel agreed to meet with taxi drivers to discuss the steering
of passengers into limousines. The meeting was arranged at the request
of the Hilton Protest Coalition, a drivers’ committee consisting
of representatives of United Taxicab Workers (UTW), the Bay Area
Taxi Drivers Association (BATDA) and unaffiliated drivers. It took
place at the hotel on July 20.
click
here to read this article
SFO
Surprise Limo Inspection
Finds Most in Violation of Law
A surprise inspection
of 84 limousines dropping off at San Francisco International Airport
found only 13.1 percent to be in full compliance with laws and regulations
governing their operations.
The June 8 inspection was conducted jointly by the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the San Francisco Police Department’s
Airport Bureau (SFPD-AB). The inspections took place at
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here to read this article
Report
Illegal Taxis
If
you witness limousines acting as taxis or out-of-town or unlicensed
cabs picking up in San Francisco, please report the following to
the Taxi Detail: 1) date and time; 2)
location; 3) license plate; 4)
if a limo, the TCP number; 4) if an out-of-town
cab, the company and cab number; 5) any phone number
on the vehicle. The number to call 24 hours a day is
553-1447.
Two
Long-Term Lease Drivers
Win Employee Protections By
Ruach Graffis
When
the boss’s nephew came to town and needed a job, did you get
laid off? More to the point, did you file for unemployment? When
you were laid up for weeks with a bad back from a broken down cab
seat, or as a result of an accident, did you file for Workers Compensation?
When you changed company, and your old company suddenly “remembered”
they hadn’t charged you for an accident three years ago, and
therefore weren’t going to return your deposit, did you know
you might be able to get the money back?
click
here to read this article
UTW
Elects New E-Board
Thomas
George-Williams was elected Chair of United Taxicab Workers’
Executive Board in our bi-annual elections held in May. Thomas,
a native of Hamburg, Germany, drives a compressed natural gas
(CNG) cab under a long-term lease at National Cab, and has been
active in UTW for some time. “We as drivers must realize
that the city does not move without us,” Thomas said.
“We just have to use this great power we have at our disposal.”
Others elected in the non-contested voting were: former chair
Ruach Graffis, S.F. Taxicab, membership secretary; Dave Barlow,
Veterans Cab, recording secretary; and Zareh Soghikian, Yellow
Cab, garage representative. |
Thomas
George-Williams |
Taxi
Driver Health Care Plan
Moving Forward
After much delay, United Taxicab Workers’ efforts
to achieve affordable health care for all taxi drivers should soon
bear fruit. An actuarial study of expected plan costs was released
in May, and a second study of funding options was scheduled to be
issued by the end of July.
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here to read this article
SFO
Taxi Pick-ups
Show Small Gain
Taxi
pick-ups at San Francisco International Airport showed a small
increase for the first half of the year over the same period
in 2004.
click
here to read this article
|
Problems
at SFO?
Taxi drivers who observe problems or have disputes
with dispatchers inside the garage or at the terminal stands
at San Francisco International Airport should contact the
on-duty shift manager at one of the following numbers:
(650) 821-2700 or
(650) 821-2704
Problems or complaints can also be addressed to Landside Operations:
(650) 821-6528 |
Hotel
Taxi Stands
The
Department of Parking & Traffic (DPT) has begun enforcing restrictions
at hotel white zones. Parking in white zones is restricted to five
minutes for purposes of picking up or dropping off. Taxis as well
as limousines will be ticketed for white zone violations.
A number of hotels have established taxi zones where it is...
click
here to read this article
At
the Taxi Commission
The Taxi Commission meets the second and fourth Tuesdays
of each month at 6:30 p.m., in room 400 of City Hall. Special meetings
may be scheduled as needed. The following is a summary of significant
commission proceedings at recent meetings:
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here to read this article
thE
SHORT linE
The Google search
engine has a new toy that shows the GPS location of San Francisco's
Yellow Cabs. It's interesting to see you guys cruising empty. There
is no practical use for this visual toy. Of course you can run into
the street and try to flag one of the blue dots.click
here.
Maybe somebody should make up a game for San Francisco as “Monopoly
Live” did with London cabs. Monopoly Live is played on the
internet. Rather than moving an old boot or an iron, the game pieces
are black cabs with satellite tracking systems and the "board"
is the streets of London. Each taxi is equipped with a GPS transmitter
to enable players to track it as it ferries passengers across London.
Every time a cab passes through one of the properties in the game,
rent is automatically paid and collected. click
here
The Lady's
Restroom @ SFO finally has a key pad -- to make sure that you guys
stay out! UTW member Ms. National 69, tired and angry, complained
to Ground Transportation and Alice Sgourakis ordered the installation
of the key pad. Says Ms. 69: "Signs alone aren't enough. But
since the key pad was installed, the restrooms are cleaner. By the
way, men, use the restrooms and leave the corners of the lot alone."
We are not
the only one complaining about unlicensed taxi operations. Daly
City "licensed" cabdrivers were threatening to strike
unless there's a crackdown on unlicensed cabs that are stealing
all their business. The city is negotiating with them.
New York's
City Council has unanimously approved the “Clean Air Taxis
Act" ensuring that some 81 hybrid vehicles will be used as
yellow cabs by this fall. San Francisco is still leading with about
13 hybrid and over 100 CNG taxis.
Las Vegas officials
are planning a summit to figure out what, if anything, to do about
the issue of so-called cabbie kickbacks. The owners of Las Vegas
strip clubs say taxi drivers are extorting money from them and threatening
to shut them down if they don't pay.
