>> good afternoon. >> i have been driving for nine years. i've not felt like this before.

we are paying out of our pocket. i do not accept that.

>> why hasn't the issue of the credit card transactions been tailored by this body? now we have one minute to speak? first of all, your staff has mandated that the microphones be put in the back of every taxi. i wonder why this is necessary. there is one with a lower interest rate. another question the need to ask is to is financially profiting from this. who are the middle man? what is the schedule of fees? there is a whole schedule of fees that banks charge. who has access to 6000 drivers personal information? my day driver called to check his balance and a woman answered. it sounded like she was in her kitchen making dinner. i find that weird.

is she working from home? do you want to give your social security number to who? you have to give a report on low-level radiation coming from these units. there is one here, one here. the concerned scientists say there is no level of radiation. i think it is your responsibility to ensure that the working environment for 6000 taxi drivers is completely safe. you need to conduct a study to see if the emf's are bouncing off of the frame towards the driver. it is your responsibility to ensure that we will not get chronic exposure. you can laugh at me if you want but i believe this city just passed a law to disclose how much radiation is coming from the cell phone. you are exposed to this every

day about this far from your head and this is coming from the rear of the unit. [applause] >> there is a lot of

electronics, how much will this harm? we have no idea. they are at each other. i think it was covered before. 5%, this will be a big blow to the taxi drivers. we are purchasing new hybrid caps which is already more offensive. that is what i have to say here. thank you very much. >> i am with united taxicab workers. for 15 years, cab companies were not a large -- allowed to charge taxi drivers for credit card transactions. this has been turned inside out

by your agency. the drivers are being asked to pay 5% when we all know that the true cost of credit card transactions, even with the profits is more like 3%. where is that other 2% going? in many cases, it will go back to these cab companies. i have it on good authority that they are getting a kick back. they are exporting their drivers. this has been turned completely inside out. -- they are exploiting their drivers. they are making a profit and that is this agencies doing and nobody else's. [applause] any other merchant can pass on the processing charge to their customers, cabdrivers cannot. we have not seen a meager

increase in over 8 years. -- we have not seen a meter increase. i have made this point before. maybe you will not ignore these drivers who took time to come here today. i am asking you to do something about this. i also want to say that there has been a huge intrusion of communications technology in taxis. -- take pictures inside and outside of the caps. we have computerized debit and credit card equipment. we have electronic bills. this records every click of the meter and every inch of the

road. while it might be legitimate purpose for some of these things, we very very badly need guidelines, standards, rules saying what this can and cannot be used for. this is big brother come home. i am askingto listen to these ds they speak and to do something about this, because they are not going to sit still. it is going to be -- thank you. chairman nolan: next speaker. secretary boomer: [reading names] and i cannot read this one. i am sorry. >> chairman, i hate to use this phrase, but you are operating in a critical way. you run this with an open hand,

project open hand, but in compassion, why are you not being compassionate to people of color, people from different countries, who are trying to do hard work and be the ambassadors of this city? [applause] why? the city of san francisco deserves to have an answer, and this is also a violation of your rules and regulations, and maybe i should read it out loud, because you do not know how to read. beginning in 2010 and every calendar year thereafter, the sfmta should hold a meeting to determine if the fees should be increased or remained unchanged. ok, what are you breaking your own law? what are you breaking your own regulation? -- why are you? there is the comptroller's report that says what to do. there are gas prices going up

every day. these drivers may have hybrids, but they are paying more for it, and you do not care about it? i was quoted in the paper that if you pay drivers more money, you get better service. i will say it again and again. why are you throwing these people under the bus, so to speak, you know, and not taking care of them? you have your own problems. i feel sorry for deputy director hayashi, because she has to go out and collect money to help pay for muni, and this is not her own faults, the problems going on in the industry. why are you gouging the drivers and not improving their ability to provide things in this state? thank you. chairman nolan: next speaker. secretary boomer: sayid -- i do

not know the rest of it. [reading names] could you say your name for me please? >> [unintelligible] why? that is the one point that i have. a credit card. why visa, visa, visa? where are our choices? and 5%, what are you not thinking about the cab companies? -- why are you not? always right here, and they can

talk about it. we cannot come all of the time. the second thing, the electronic bill systems that you're going to put into the cabs, right now, we do not have health care. you are making us more slaves. that is what i have to say. thank you. secretary boomer: mr. chairman, we have been advised by the city sheriff that we are violating the fire code by having everybody standing against the wall, so we're going to ask everyone who is standing to please move to an overflow room, which is room 408, so we will move on for a moment until we

are either able to find a seat -- and i am going to read a bunch of names so that peoples whose names i read can stay. ok, what is your name? >> the one before. >> ok. chairman nolan: let's get three or four names and then line up. secretary boomer: ok, [reading names], and then ken louie. >> i am a driver with were real cab. i am very concerned about the current situation in the cab business, especially that we are

giving out of private information to some other state companies, and we are being damaged every day by paying a 5% fee on credit cards, which we do not like. it has been a cash business for a long time, and we would like to keep it that way. sometimes, at the end of a shift, you cannot even pay for gas because you have all of these credit card slips and no gas. also, the hybrids, we would like them to be regular cavs, because hybrids do not last as long as regular cavs, and we do not have any spares. we do not have spares, and we lose wages. chairman nolan: next speaker. secretary boomer: [reading names]

>> hi, my name is nabile. it seems that the cab business is always going down and down and down. people have the perception that we are making more money. we are not making more money. we are paying more money for hybrids. we heard gavin newsom saying that drivers have saved millions of dollars. that is not true. the hybrid cars, they break down all of the time, and when you do not have a fair cab, -- a spare cavs, no health care, not even one time have you had a vote. why not ask the drivers about this? we are paying now 5%. the money that i get, it goes straight to my account. they do not tell me -- i get a lump sum, and i have to log on

and figure out how much i may. i might do it. i and educated. i have a bachelor's degree, but how many drivers do not have email and cannot go online in check? we are supposed to follow. thank you. chairman nolan: next speaker. secretary boomer: [reading names] chairman nolan: good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon, directors. this is the first time i have spoken. secretary boomer: could you please speak your name, please? >> this is the first time i am speaking to the directors. all of these things, this is all i have been saying, and the people of new are sitting here, they are making these decisions.

we are going to speak out. you will have to listen to us. there are so many cabdrivers here. those who are not here, it is not because they do not support us. it is because they cannot afford to come. on the top of it, the cab companies have all types of monopoly rules. we have to pay for the waybills, and we have to pay for our car. yellow cab is putting all kinds of laws on our head. now, we have to pay for a receipt for the customer. and then again, the people mid

in the city, who work in this city, the drivers are not making money. the drivers have to pay for the hybrids. the hybrids are not made for the cabs. they are probably good for the grandmothers, but not for the cabs. we also do not want to pay 5%, because we are already paying the color scheme. thank you. chairman nolan: thank you. secretary boomer: ashwani, [reading names] chairman nolan: good afternoon. >> my name is ashwani.

i do not want my information stored is some cd somewhere. it can be hacked. it happens all of the time. also, we cannot afford to pay 5% in credit card expenses. we are already paying. cards are expensive. we have expenses maintaining the hybrids. also, the gas prices going up and down, and nobody is giving us a raise. in another city, i heard in chicago, the drivers got a surcharge for gas, and here, nobody ever does anything about it. please, help us. thank you. chairman nolan: thank you.

next speaker, please. secretary boomer: [reading names] >> i am against these, because we are already paying for a new car, and then we are also paying a high gas prices, like everybody is saying, and as you know, everybody has family. you never think about us. yellow in munich, they get together. they treat us like we are criminals, and they are always treating us like we are criminals. muni is making money every year. we would just like to raise our family. they always want our money.

drivers are paying $2,700 per month. that is lot money. -- a lot of money, and then they pay insurance, gas, $4.50 per gallon. what do you think we are making? $100,000 per day? you know what i am talking about. and yellow and unique, they never think about our health insurance. -- yellow and unique. we do not have anything, you know? please, deny the 5%. help us with electronic waybill. please help us. we need your help. thank you. chairman nolan: thank you.

secretary boomer: [reading names] chairman nolan: ms. boomer, is this being broadcast to the room? secretary boomer: yes, it is being broadcast to room 408. [reading names] chairman nolan: good afternoon. go ahead. secretary boomer: could you state your name, please? >> i have been in the cab business for 15 years. in the 15 years, and it is seen it go down and down and down. no one cares about us. you guys care about the business. the business means the cab drivers and the companies, not

just the companies, not justice system. we need someone to care about us. you say that they work 10 hours a day and sleep 10 hours a day. they do not have time to sleep or go to the bathroom. they have families. they need to eat and survive, and most of the cab drivers are immigrants. we are immigrants, but we are people. we work for them. it is not just for us, because everything we worked for, we spend here. i raise my three kids here. i am so glad. i love my job. i love to be a cab driver, but i hate to see our business bidding down because nobody cares about us. nobody gives respect for the cab drivers. we need respect. ok, you guys want to charge us

$5. i give you 5% of bp paid by credit card. is that fair? they never think, "ok, put $1 extra for you." i have to ask, "how much do you want to put on your credit card? " that is ridiculous. my job for people. that is not right. we need respect for that. thank you. chairman nolan: thank you. secretary boomer: [reading names]

i will not read these names again, mr. chairman. [reading names] chairman nolan: i think we have a speaker. >> i am speaking like everyone on the electronic waybills. american express, they are charging $7. so, you know, we have heard the same story from all drivers. we have everything going up and

up. we have not had a raise and a long time. the cave -- cab driver has to pay more gas price. there is no surcharge required from the city or anything like that. the same money five years ago, the same money now, and it is getting more expensive every single day. please help us. thank you very much. chairman nolan: next speaker, please. good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon. secretary boomer: could you state your name, please? >> everything is expensive.

we are working hard. we are not sleeping. we are not making money. i work two or three days. we are just suffering now. america. i love america, because they tipped me, and they say thank you again. so now, i do not know. what do you call it? dpt? the ticket. the plate number. they send the bill.

they send us a bill. we are suffering. we have a family. we love everything, you know? you have to help us. otherwise, we are not surviving. think you. chairman nolan: thank you. secretary boomer: is there anyone else in the room like to address this board under public comment? chairman nolan: the good afternoon. >> good afternoon, the directors. i am howard. a week or so ago, i went to a subcommittee hearing at the board of supervisors, and they were discussing problems on the 14 and the j, and mr. haley was

there, explaining some of the problems on the 14th and what would need to happen, and they have all of the solutions, but nothing happens. there are new dates. there are so many things that you can do to make me work better for your -- to make m.u.d. work better -- make muni work better for your riders. why can we not do it? what all of this stuff, we have to do a ceqa analysis. when we take it out, we should not have to do that analysis. when you made n