so a driver may charge for a dispatch requests for non-peak hours, a 3-hour peak time -- $3 b timely dispatch read that a driver may charge during peak times, and it feels surcharge per tensest for each minute of waiting our traffic delay time and 10 cents per 1/5 of them while and that the board of directors shall hold a hearing in fiscal year 2010-2011 and at least every other fiscal year after determine whether to change taxi fares and the cap on the fees. >> i have given the success of our tax the town hall meetings held earlier this month, we are coming back to you as a board with some change recommendations based on the input of drivers and stakeholders in the taxi industry. i want to recognize i appreciate director oka. he attended one of the town hall meetings and took a great deal of time to hear what i would say were some very candid advice to staff i want to thank the entire

industry who took the time out from their jobs to share their thoughts with us. again, in a very candid fashion. i think that is why we're here today. i will turn it over to our deputy director of taxi services, who will walk through items 11 and 12. >> good afternoon. that the director, taxi services. i want to first address item 11. item 11 has to do with the proposed tax the late fare increase. as you know, the materials for this meeting were submitted prior to the town hall meetings that were conducted. there were over 20 hours of town hall meetings conducted. those were very productive sessions, and we did receive a lot of valuable input. as a result of that, our recommendation has changed somewhat. to go over each element of what is in the materials before you, first, there was a recommendation that there be no

change to the initial flag drop rate, the first amount of money that goes on the mir for the first 1/5 of a mile of the taxi ride. our initial recommendation was not to increase that rate, but as a result of the town hall meetings, we have revised that recommendation. unfortunately, the new recommendation is not properly noticed for the board today, so we will have to carry that forward into a future meeting, and we will discuss the specifics of that flag drop increase at that time. second, we are no longer recommending a 10 cents per 1/5 of a mile or minute wait time increase as a fuel surcharge. the reason for dropping that recommendation is that it was incremental on top of a second leader increase, and those two increments together had a very large and disproportionate effect on longer rides and in particular, the competitiveness

of using a taxi to get to the airport. this is a fundamental piece of taxi driver business, and we need to make sure that our taxi's stay competitive with the limousine industry, so we need to be competitive about adjustments to distance. time and distance also have a proportionate impact on our paratransit customers and on any customer who, of course, lives in barter parts of the city, so we have to be careful, as we have learned, when we adjust distance on the meter. that is why we do not recommend at this time adopting the additional 10 cents fuel surcharge for the meter. however, there was one recommendation that involve a base meter increase, and that is a 10 cents per 1/5 of a mile, 10 cents per minute of waiting time, and that we do continue to recommend. unlike the original recommendation the cumulative feed wheat -- cumulatively would

have added 20 cents, we are now recommending only a 10 cents increase. in other words, it is 45 cents per 1/5 of a mile or minutes of waiting time. we are now recommending it not go higher than 55 cents. finally, we do not recommend the peak time radio response fee at this time. that may be something that, following further study, that we choose to adopt, but again, it has a disproportionate impact on our paratransit customers, and it may seem discriminatory to people who live outside the downtown, that they have to pay to get a taxi to show up, so we may not be sending the right messages there, although generally speaking, that rate has been -- those fees were the subject of pretty comprehensive study that shows -- the basis of the study is essentially that that is the economic value you would have to put on the dispatch call in order to try somebody away from the downtown area, but there are other

considerations such as the paratransit impacts and the residents concerned. at this time, possibly in the future. we are not recommending this surcharge. generally speaking, i want to let you know that there were at least two broad concepts expressed at the town hall meetings. what is that there should not be a lot of surcharges. that is uncomfortable for a driver to say $2 for the airport and $4 for the bridge when they pick you up in front of your house, and they have to keep adding on these charges that, generally speaking, we should try to do it through the meter. the second principle that was consistently expressed in the town hall meetings was to keep it simple. to not make things complicated. there were drivers who did not support any meter increase. there were drivers who supported a much higher meter increase, but we think that what we have identified here is our final

recommendation with a modern flag drop and moderate time and distance increase is broadly supported by the people who attended the town hall meeting. i also want to note that the town hall meetings are a wonderful thing, and i think we need to continue the more on a regular basis so that there is this venue, but there is additional out reach required, and we're going to try to undertake that, such as driver surveys, obviously, customer service. more interaction with taxi rider's, who are generally not heard from a lot in these discussions, as well as getting down to the company's arch and down to the airport so that we have more contact with drivers. there are 7000 drivers and a lot of good ideas and a lot of opinions, and we wacontact with. finally, on the issue of -- i wanted to cover the potential paratransit impacts of the recommendation that we are making with respect to today's

meeting. that is again, the 10 cents increase on 1/5 of a mile or the waiting time. we calculate that the impact to our parents of program are between $750,000 and brushing up to about $1 million of additional subsidy that we would have to provide. however, there are quite a lot of savings coming out of the paratransit program now as a result of the paratransit debit card. i consider this a very good use of the savings because we certainly want taxi drivers to feel that the paratransit program is supporting them in the same way they are supporting the paratransit program. they are very effective and successful and efficient a resource for this, and we want them to feel good about serving the paratransit customers. i think the more economic incentive we provide, the better service our customers are going to get. and the paratransit customers receive a fixed allotment of

savings between $90 and up to $300 per month, so there is a fair increase, what that means for your typical paratransit customers that they can take your rights. this is an important consideration for many people, but again, due to the excellent data that we are getting from the paratransit debit card system, we can assess people's needs and i just those allotments based on demonstrated need, and we can certainly do that. we think that we can mitigate these effects by taking care of people's allotments on a case by case basis. finally, this has been a very rapid process, and we think that we have achieved a moderate solution, but we also think that going forward, that we need a better solution that is more efficient and more informed that what we have been able to pull together today. that is why we are working hard to issue a request for proposal

for a consultant who has expertise in the taxi industry, and there are many tax the think tanks out there who can help us develop formulas that we can use both for gate fees and meter rate increases, and these kinds of things that really should be economic calculations based on how the business is doing rather than, you know, trying to feel our way through a lot of opinions. so that is a plan going forward. i want to say that i know the san francisco taxi customers may legitimately wonder why we are increasing the rate of a taxi fare when we have such notorious problems with taxi service in san francisco, and i want to address that. i want to urge the public to understand the service problems we are experiencing are the result of fundamental structural issues with our current model of service delivery. they are most emphatically not the fault of our drivers. in the coming months and years, we will be working with the

industry and the public to address these structural issues such as the times' service, taxi supply and demand, a neighborhood service, and technology and solutions, but in the meantime, i think it is critically important that san franciscans know that they have a highly skilled, hard-working, and dedicated population of taxi drivers, a large proportion of whom had decades of experience. 20, 30, even 40 years of experience serving san francisco, and they have not had a raise in eight years. i think that none of us really appreciate how difficult it is to be a taxi driver, but i think that we need to use our imaginations for a minute. if you think it is hard to sit behind a desk for eight hours, imagine what it is like sitting behind the wheel of a vehicle for 10 years, negotiating sitting in freeway traffic. imagine having to pay $100 or $150 just for the privilege of going to work or having to turn in your salary at the end of the

day if you have not produced enough. that might be a good model for us. maybe we would get more done. imagine having to pay the same amount to work even if you are sick and cannot show up. imagine waiting two hours in an airport lot under very tight controls and regulations only to pull up to the front of the line and see dozens of unregulated vehicles picking people up. imagine having to deal with extremely in mediated -- inebriated and nauseous people on a regular basis. it is an easy thing to go about, the keeping these customers from driving their own vehicles as one of the most important contributions that our drivers make. rinse the driver cannot work anymore that night because the vehicle has to be cleaned. you have heard over and over in his room about the dangers of being a taxi driver. risk of being injured in an accident when you are not at fault, the risk of being assaulted, robbed, stabbed, shot. we have not had any recent shootings, but there have been

several very recent non fatal stabbings, and i do not think any of us can imagine what it is like to have the possibility of being stabbed at work. imagine having all the same skills of a bartender at the same time in order to coax a tip out of your customers. so we offer this meter increase in the spirit of respecting the hard work that you folks do and acknowledging that it is time that some of these increased costs be compensated through this meter rate increase. [applause] >> what we will do now is -- chris was speaking about item 11. would you like to hear likesonali bose related to item 12? >> not yet. that was an excellent report you gave. i know that the chair of the tax

advisory committee is here also. i would like to hear from the advisory committee also. >> good afternoon, directors. we had a special meeting yesterday to discuss this very topic of the meter increase. essentially, passed a recommendation to adopt the updated meter increase that chris just spoke about in the presentation, which is essentially 10 cents per 1/5 of a mile and 10 cents per minute of which have without adding any discharges -- any surcharges. for similar reasons, we feel that the additional charges would be excessive and would compensate the pricing system for taxicab rides and affect the competitiveness of taxicabs.

parts of the discussion that went on among council members were the cost of business has gone up. cost of doing business has gone up for drivers. the increase a couple of years ago, fees to renew cards, because drivers have gone up. gas prices have gone up since 2003, which was our last meter increase, so we felt that it was warranted. some council members felt that it was not warranted at the time. that was the minority opinion. others got some of the of the were thrown out, just to be a raise the meter fees, but ultimately, the recommendation we passed was to adopt the updated meter increase that staff had recommended. >> any questions? directors? >> thank you very much. thank you for your time and involvement. >> sonali bose will now speak

to you regarding item 12, which is electronic -- >> both items were called together. all right, i will. all right. item 12, amending san francisco transportation code division ii to remove the specific deadline for implementation of electronic waybills. >> good afternoon. thank you, members of the board. i want to speak to item 12, but before i do, i just want to -- i also attended town hall meetings, and i was very impressed with the turnout. i specifically want to thank julie m. rosenberg and henry epstein, who meticulously recorded every comment the drivers made so that the board could get an understanding of some of the comments that were made. what we're trying to do -- the board of directors originally

required a mandate by march 23 -- march 21. subsequent to that, extended the date. item 12 is requesting an amendment to this to remove the july 12, 2011, date requirement, and allows 120 days to do some outreach and respond to some of the concerns we have heard from the industry on electronic waybills. our next set of town hall meetings on june 6 and 7 will focus both on electronic way bill s&p. medallions -- waybills and peak period medallions. we have also heard some concerns that we need to get some experts to come and advise us. we are requesting the firm date be removed director heinicke:

what is -- be removed. director heinicke: what is the firm date currently? >> july 21. but what we need the extra time to do -- director heinicke: i have no dispute about the extra time. i just wonder whether we should continue it now or continue it later. >> it is my understanding the only item which can talk about or consider is the taximeter fare increase or wait time or traffic delay. i want to ask my fellow directors -- we can either approve the item today or wait for staff to come back with a motion to approve the drug trade. what is your general feeling? director oka: first of all,

thank you, mr. chairman. i have heard from almost every member of the taxi industry over the last less than a week, and everybody -- i have heard all your voices. believe me, this is going to be good when we finally put it to work. i am ready to vote on this today, but i know the it is a complicated and complex thing to look at. i will move the item, and if people want to do whatever, i will move the item. >> you are prepared to address it today? director heinicke: i said we should hear from members of the community who have come to address this so that they have

maybe something to shoot at, and i will make up my mind after we have heard from them. my inclination would be to hold this over so that we can hear it all as a package. as you mentioned, we cannot hear the entire thing today. i think the industry has represented itself very well. i think they have demonstrated the need for the increase, and i am prepared to support one, but i think for procedural matters, i would rather consider this as a whole, and for merits matters, i would rather consider this in context or in conjunction with some of the service increases. not stuff being drawn or all that, stuff already through the pipeline and ready to go. that would be my inclination. i know the industry wants this increase soon. that would be my inclination as

well, but i would rather hear this as an entire package. i will say that for now, but we had already. there are a lot of people want their voices to be heard today. >> i, too, support the increase, but i would like to hear from industry representatives, and i would like to your probably more information. but i [inaudible] director brinkman: i agree. we should go ahead and hear from the public. i also support the fare increase, but i am inclined to think we should consider this as a package. >> i am prepared to move with this, but i would like to hear from the public also. with that, we're going to open it up for public comment.

and this is only on item 11 and 12. two minutes. >> mr. chairman, we do have a number of members of the public who have submitted speaker cards. for the record, a number of members of the public to do wish to address you under public comment about personal information, so they will not be called at this time, and it will be called when we get to public comment. [reading names] >> when you introduced the electronic way bill, if you

include the paid amount, the everyday ratings will not be correct. from the briefings we had, they took up the paid amount from the electronic with bill, and the response was no. for reasons we are not told or reasons we do not understand at all, if you still ignore our concept, it would be like giving amount. because of the readability, increased or not, sunday in the future, what you report as gross income must mark that, how are we going to explain and proved the everyday issues about those running out without paying,

those who realize they have no money at the end of the trip, the ones who say, "this is all i have come close " -- this is all i have," the ones who sthe readt does not include drivers who forget to turn the meter off at the end of the trip. our fault, that maybe. every day, the drivers -- [bell rings] >> thank you very much. [applause]

>> i am in medallion owner with a yellow taxi cab. we need a meter increase in now, okay? i understand you want to wait for certain reasons, okay? the drivers are not waiting when they go to gas up their card. they have got to pay the gas bill. they pay their gates. they have to pay then. they cannot wait. we have waited eight years. i'm sure you have had a raise in eight years, okay? we need it now. if you do not give it to us now, you know, the drivers are very impatient. let's put it that way. we need it now. chris has done a great job with the town hall meetings. she has got the response from the drivers. the drivers say they want it.

they recommend it. but again, you all want to wait. we are tired of waiting. we need a rate increase now. [applause] we need to vote on this today, okay? why did you hold the town hall meetings if you do not want to vote on this now? why were we there? i lost four days of work in these meetings, okay? to get my opinion expressed. now, you come back with the results and still want to wait. why are we waiting? we need the rate increase now. simple. [applaus[reading it -- >> [readg names] >> i and a medallion holder and full time driver. good afternoon, directors. the cab drivers are paying your bills now.

as you noticed, there is a degree of anger and cynicism about how well we're being represented. i know that in terms of proper procedures and notices and so forth, what you can vote on today is not even a torso of what is needed. if the words are very soon, if you do take a proper role of the full package, i think that that is going to mean less chance of error. there are a number of other fees that we're simply not asking for now that could be discussed even if not adopted that would inform you as to the way that our thinking is going, but if something is not done in the

very near future, the cynicism is going to get out of control. you are not hearing some of the anchor today because of the town hall meetings. i would like to offer just one piece of numerical facts. the 19% loss in income we suffered over the last several years means that the meter is now worth $2.50, which is less than it was actually in 1983, and the mix are now at 89 cents of buying power. really, something needs to be done. on the subject of electronic waybills, i have not heard a reason against them that i like. but there are very many ancillary problems that need to be worked out. thank you. >> [reading names]

>> good afternoon, board members. united taxicab workers. let me just say i hope there is a separate opportunity to speak about the electronic waybills -- completely separate topic, and we should have the opportunity to speak on both. as the director pointed out, it has been more than eight years since there has been a real leader increase for cab drivers. it is inconceivable that any of the union's that contract with muni would go anywhere near that time without a raise in pay. there has been a 19% increase in

the cost of living. you know that san francisco is among and really is the most expensive city in the entire country for cost of living with the exception of the borough of manhattan in new york. drivers kids have gone up. there was a $12.50 gate increase a few years back. gas has gone up 153%. it was $1.69 in january 2003 when we got the meter increase. last week, it was $4.28. even drivers who are driving hybrids now are paying substantially more for gas than driving the conventional gas guzzlers back in 2003. in addition to that, you put credit card fees on the backs of drivers. drivers need this increase. do not hold it