peak time, but it unfeasible for cabdrivers. it's feasible for cab companies and the mta, but for the customer is an oversupply of cabs when you don't need it. we're talking a majority of the time. [tone] [applause] [reading names] >> and the president of a cab company and of a taxi advisory council. let me voice my support for a meager increase. this will help our drivers. we are proud of the work our drivers to in the work they perform day in and day out.

with no meter increase since 2003, the increase is necessary and warranted. we've taken several steps to help our drivers. we have invested millions in new, clean, energy-efficient vehicles and reduced the cost of fuel. that puts more drivers -- more money in drivers pockets. we've invested millions in computerized dispatch they give drivers and opportunity to keep tabs filled with passengers. we maintain a full-service unionized maintenance shop to assure drivers get the safest, efficient vehicles and clean cabs. the city's taxi system depends on companies like ours to invest in that infrastructure so that drivers can earn more money, yet sfmta has not given an increase.

we've proposed a model and become of 75 cents an hour justified by the enormous rise in fees instituted on cab companies overpass several years, amounting to an almost 100% increase since 2008. our economy estimates that for -- from 1995-2007, we've lost thousands because of the charges warranted by the cpi. these funds will never be recovered and can never be invested back in that industry based on the consumer price index. if you want to lead the way and provide job opportunities for drivers and provide excellent customer service, give us the initial release sfmta. we oppose any surcharges -- >> thank you. >> [, reading names]

. >> i'm with the medallion holders association. thank you for your favorable vote on item 12. on item 11, some background -- during the past eight years, the biennial meter review was subject to cp i analysis, but the consumer price index process allowed supervisors -- that was an advisory matter and in every occasion, they disregarded the comptroller's report that an increase is needed for drivers. so it's now a desperate situation. i agree that going forward, there will be an rsvp to see how gates and rates will be set in future years.

-- there will be an rfp -- it has been estimated in some studies that drivers who do not have a medallion and work full time only make $25,000 a year gross. that has not changed in eight years and it needs to be up to $33,000. the rate increase improved yesterday recommended by the advisory council will get to that point at its the right increased to approve. i understand that the public wants service improvements, but as has been indicated, the drivers have no control over many of the problems are structural in this industry and this body cannot hold the drivers hostage to that. we are going to study the open taxi access and peak time permit and try to make some service

improvements. you saw the drivers outside. they're frustrated because they cannot make enough money to survive in san francisco. [applause] [reading names] >> good afternoon board committee and fellow drivers. i am here to support the meter increase and it should be done today. one thing -- please do not take a taxi cab drivers for granted. i've been here so many times and most of the time, there is no result. you put again meeting again meeting. we need it now. there are so many standing outside and if you do not do it today, you are pushing us forward to a strike. if we stand today -- i just want to give that out for you guys.

[reading names] >> i am a taxi driver. i have enjoyed driving a cab l.a. san francisco. my part-time driver and i enjoy representing my company. it is a great job. i've never spoken here before, so excuse me if i am a bit nervous. i'm confused by what i have heard here today because i have heard a lot of vagaries. some people say you are ready to vote but there are procedural issues and you have not told us what the drop would increase to. you are talking about the package of services in the pipeline, but that has not been specified. i'm confused about that.

the recommendation on the time and distance sounds just about right. but, that will be neutralized by the credit card fee now being imposed on drivers. i have heard a couple of people talk about micromanagement. while not being in control of their own issues -- something i was shocked by today was i went to pay parking ticket on the anti a website. i was entering my credit card information and i noticed i was entering on a not secure web page. are you aware your credit card acceptance system is not secure? that is amazing to me. i have never seen a merchant website that's not secure where you enter credit card information. i hope you address that today. [applause]

>> [reading names] . >> i am a cabdriver and father. number one, i am in favor of increased the meter. everything is going to increase. i hope we can get some local -- about the electronic bill -- if you don't know that cabdriver, two or three times, no pay, people are drunk and don't pay and people ask if you are mexican and they say go back to india, so now i tell them i am from madagascar are -- i don't like america 43 years.

when i was young, i came here from madagascar are. i say 43 years i don't know if there is missing or not missing. nobody talked about this is going to each person or instead of going to the city, if we pay something, we must pay to our city. if city takes 5%, i'm happy and said of giving billion to some bank i don't know where is that bank of a charge and we are paying $10 to $15 extra per shift and before we have 10 people and now we have 300 criminal brains try to squeeze money from the cabdrivers and i think it's not mcdonnell-douglas

and i don't understand about this thing. the last thing which i am saying, if we cry, it hurt you, please do not let us cry. thank you. [applause] >> [reading names] >> i made cabdriver. i think you could describe this as mission creep gone wild. we have a lot of stuff thrown at us all in one year. selling medallions and everything, we are not able to catch our breath and you are putting in waybills an ongoing to try to confine this to waybills. i always heard waybills were from the police so if you pick up somebody, you have a record of it. now, it is biometrics. its following your around all the time and makes me nervous and combined with the rest of

the changes in that industry, it is kind of oppressive. for 10 years, we had the taxi commission and one well-known politician said it was the best entertainment on television, but i found it embarrassing many times. i would like to go back to honorably driving a cab and not being followed around or worry about whether embarking hard enough or -- i left yellow in 1980 something because they brought in computers and i did not want to sit there and have to operate or text on a computer. i'm not sure is legal. now, all of this stuff is in the car and there's more and more and every day of something new. i think it's time to take a break and stop this stuff and step back and look at for six months and think about what you are doing. thank you. >> [reading names]

>> i'm a cabdriver and i will talk about this at a later date. i was in a car accident last year were the air bag did not deploy. the seatbelt that was held by a close 10 gave loose and i hit the front windshield and hit the side windshield. i found out later that the cab company did not have uninsured motorist coverage. i find it hard to believe you folks are taking money. i heard $9 million and change and you are not really focused on the safety or safety nets for taxi drivers. i will talk about that at a later date because this is about the meter increase.

please -- you need to hear from the drivers. we are the ones out there driving a cab is. you do hear what's going on in the streets. i have done my fair share talking with the supervisors and politicians to make sure they anders and what you are doing to us. this morning, i wake up and there is a 70% increase on reset san francisco. i see a huge, dramatic increases. you guys cannot wait for two meetings from now. the need to decide today because the media will take wind of this and put these particles out there and you will make it difficult for the taxi drivers to be out there servicing the public. you think crime's have happened

in the past? people are upset because they think we are asking for money. how about taking some of that and throwing it back into the taxi industry where it belongs? >> [reading names] >> its nice to see you were holding town hall meetings so that the drivers could give their input. the figure would be an increase of 22%. the cost of living has gone up since the last one. if there wasn't a meager increase for the last two years, it would be a wash. you have two things in play, the have pushing for a date

increase and you have the credit card charges. i think it would be unconscionable to give the companies both of those things. if they want a meter increase, they can eat the credit card charges. if it won the credit card charges taken care of, there's no reason in the world they should be given a meager increase. during the last 12 years, when there has not been a meager increase, there has been fee increases. one of these is for hybrid vehicles. a lot of these companies are charging $10 per shift. hybrid vehicles are no longer more and expensive, so they've already had a $7 and a decent increase. as for the 75 cents a hour, he is already charging the drivers a dollar an hour in terms of

tipping. i would suggest you do one or the other. we need a meager increase now and we do not need it passed to the drivers. thank you very much. [applause] >> [reading names] >> good morning, ladies and gentleman. i am here to speak for the meter increase. i encourage you to approve this increase. i've been driving a cab for almost a decade and the only time we've had a meager increase was 25 cents in 2003. i take an average of 30 passengers per shift and that translates to a miserable $6. ever since i started, the average was $75 to date, plus the hybrid teas we pay of $7 and cents. the living costs have

skyrocketed, gasoline prices when i first guarded driving was averaging a dollar and now it is averaging almost $5. hear, you see that people trying to represent us. you have 1000 more people outside driving around who are no longer able to cope with this. it's just too much. during this time, when i first darden, muni was a dollar. our rates remain the same. what's wrong with nba? you guys raise your rates by 100%. muni went up by 100%. our rates by 25 cents. what's wrong with that?

[applause] i urge you guys to approve this meter increase because we can no longer afford it. thank you very much. [applause] >> [reading names] >> good afternoon. i had an opportunity to review the staff report on item 11 which indicated there would be a report on today's meeting. that was not provided. i'm wondering of staff can report on that and if i could have an opportunity to comment thereafter. i do not know what the status of the review is. >> this is his opportunity. >> we have the information we

would be happy to provide that. >> thank you. >> can the staff indicate what the determination was to make the review -- that was promised in the calendar item. this is your two minutes of public comment. it is not a question and answer. >> this document was not provided in advance. the calendar item indicated it would be made known at the board meeting. it has not been made known, although was represented is there is some document that would exist. it is material to my comment and i would like to be represented to the public what the determination was. and i would like an opportunity to comment thereafter. this is not a fair process. can i get a response to that?

>> where is the document? can someone report on what the status is? this is a significant increase in fees and fares and i may have a position on that but it would be informed by the analysis. [tone] can i get the staff to respond? >> [reading names] . >> good afternoon, directors. when drivers are crying with low wages and low income, and we have our new taxi deputy director and this time, the

cries were allowed from the drivers, she went with the cab company representative catching the fish. she did not pay attention for the 7000 people who are hired to pay attention to their problem and said of paying attention to the medallion holders and the cab companies. and then, to satisfy the cab company and the medallion holder, she created a tax and our meager increases went away. this tax was busy in their own games, but the drivers never got any kind of increase because the tax was not interested and she was not entrusted to pass this on. this needs to be dismantled.

nine people at the cab companies and the medallion holder -- you need to bring similar to the taxi commission, some kind of committee that would be different from this tax if you want to solve our problems. going to the town hall meetings, i attended six meetings and it took me 5.75 meetings until i got a question which i wanted to ask. whenever i tried to read the question, our director academy throwing away and not let me ask a question about the electronic waybill. it is very hard for us because this person doesn't do the job. this -- please ask this person to leave this job and someone

else who can run this industry better. we need it desperately and -- [applause] >> those are the last speaker cards i have. >> i am driving 21 years cabin in san francisco. at the meeting last weekend, i asked the lady sitting behind me, i said you agreed to put in the terminal behind the driver? who is bothering you, who -- which company is forcing you and she don't answer. something fishy is going on. something is wrong. i am a 49-year-old, i've got a baby. i can read people's eyes like

you are reading and 80 years ago, i -- eight years ago, i have the fee is similar to $2.50 gas, so now it is $4.50. why are you wasting time everybody keeps yes or no yes listen -- now is for $5. we all know that everything expensive. we though need to -- your time is more important than ours. we need me turning every day, you do need increase meters -- we know it is too much. she told us you need help, you need to pay some part of your gas cholera we know if it is too

much, but they are offering us -- i don't know why you are wasting your time -- i think your time is more important than me. keep talking and keep asking and there is something also going on, somebody taking the nation i believe something wrong. thank you very much. >> before we get to the next speaker, a number of people submitted a card to discuss the privacy information issues with the electronic waybills which is not subject to items 11 are 12. it is listed on public comment, but if you wish to address either item specifically, please come up to the side and we will take that, but the other item with regards to privacy information is subject to item nine, which is a topic not

listed on today's agenda for discussion. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i want to share a little information with you this afternoon that pertains to the rate increase and our ability to fill out our mandated duties. we are required to test and seal every taximeter in the city of san francisco. in order to do this, we spend about six months of manpower. we usually start our program in june or july in order to get through the mall. we end up in december. we have been waiting until we have the taxi rate increase because that will mean the meters will be adjusted and then we can go back and test them and receive them. that is all i wanted to share with you.

the meters will probably have to be opened and then we test them and reseal them. that is just for your consideration. >> thank you for coming down and reminding us all that the farebox is something subject to strict regulation by your department. i assume given the manpower it takes to make a meter change and certify a meter change that if we were going to enact to parts of the increase, one concerning the wait time and one concerning the flag drop, from an efficiency standpoint, it would make sense to do it all at once as opposed to in two steps. >> that is correct. there is one other part to it. they pay a registration fee annually and we have to go back again and they have to pay as another fee and that would not be good. >> thank you for coming down. >> [reading names]

>> good afternoon, directors. the new president and owner of desoto cab company. let me first say that these two issues, meter rates and electronic waybills -- let me speak first about the meter rates. i strongly urge you to pass this meter rate. it has been eight years and these were supposed be adjusted to the cpi and they were not done. this alludes to a greater problem within the taxi industry. any time i speak with anyone at city hall, no one wanted to deal with taxis. it's one of the most difficult industries to work with. however, i have been a strong critic of different issues on this agency, including contract in. but what comes to taxi matters, i must say there has been

enormous leadership the ways i have not seen before. it means hours and hours of taxi town hall meetings for people to give their opinions. you will never get this industry to agree on anything, but you have allowed the industry to speak at these meetings and give their opinions. >there is a strong opinion that a meter research rate is due. i believe there are fundamental flaws in the industry that must be addressed in terms of service and i believe public service is not the high priority it should be in the taxi industry and the industry as a whole needs to be included in everything that has to do with san francisco. there are 75,000 individual tax derides given every day. san francisco is one of the top five destinations cities and must have the highest level of taxicab service. the taxi