i want to say out of the zone, we hit four out of our five metrics in the first three months. so our goal of reducing wait times at s.f.o. for purchased medallion holders, you can see, has been reduced 27%. and what we did is we compared the same period in 2017 to 2019. so our s.f.o. rules have been in place for three months, february, march, and april in 2019. we looked at those same months in 2018 so we could account for seasonality. [please stand by]

. >> under our goal to bring more taxi service to san francisco proper, this is attempting to reverse a long-standing

trend -- [please stand by]. >> -- we increased to 20%, and including our general public wheelchair trips, that number's increased 38%, and that's reversing a long-standing decline, as well. i think that's important to note. ramp taxi trips have been declining year over year, you can see to the lower left of the slide, and so turning that

around has been really important. we also created a way to track general public wheelchair trips, so this is exciting for staff, and we are seeing that more general wheelchair trips are being reported to us. we are being audited, and we are going to add an incentive for those public wheelchair trips. taxi congestion has been reduced at s.f.o. here we go, congestion again. so when there are too many taxis and there aren't enough spots in the lot, what happens is the s.f.o. starters have to turn those taxis back. and typically, instead of going back and serving the customers

in the city that need taxis, the drivers typically circle. so this -- part of reducing taxi congestion is part of the overall solution at s.f.o., when we've seen with these new -- within the first three months of the new policies that in the new rules that the turn backs have declined from 11% to 6%. we have a rebait plan. drivers can earn up to $3500 in rebate, depending on the type of clean air vehicle. the taxi commission voted to reduce the taxi pick up fee at

s.f.o. from $5 to $4.50, and drivers are able to pass through the costs, so that reduces the fee 50%.

again, the virtual queue, this is really important to -- so that taxi drivers can serve the city and s.f.o. we're working on adding incentives. we're adding an incentive for wheelchair pick ups, and also adding an incentive for night time pick ups and pick ups in o outlying areas and medical facilities. we're working to pilot taxi trips for city employees, and

again, we need the pilot to be updated. in order to be able to spend city funds on these types of trips, they need to be auditable, so the taxi drivers need to be on the app, and they need to be a city vendor. my group is working on establishing a campaign. we've heard that is something the industry wants, and so we're looking to see how we can move that forward. and i think i've talked enough. i'm happy to answer any questions, and if there's anything i missed, please let me know. >> chair peskin: miss toran, i want to thank you for your presentation and for some data. in the old days before t.n.c.,

there were three stools to the taxi scheme. there was the color schemes, the old drivers, and the k-permit drivers. that was actually a fourth leg to that stool that was not represented, and that was the consumers. in today's landscape, it is infinitely more complicated, and just to have clear data, it's infinitely helpful to -- i don't want to say a decision maker, but i can urge you, and my colleagues and six of my colleagues -- or five of my

colleagues can change that, but i won't go into that. i've got some questions that supervisor fewer wanted to ask but had to go to another meeting. i'm going to turn it over to supervisor safai, and then, i've got a robust list of questions to ask you. >> supervisor safai: i don't mind bouncing back and forth. thank you for the time. i know that 90 days is a quick turnaround, although in this instance, we necessitated getting a clear picture. i think one of the goals that we had also was that we weren't going to display some existing, whether they were earned or not earned or pre-k or whatever in exchange for this idea that we're going to decrease the amount of time that anyone can go to the airport that's a taxi holder. i think it sounds like we need to have some serious conversations about the virtual queue, and i think the taxi

industry should be involved in having to shape that. i think we need to talk about reducing some additional fees, if possible, for taxis to go to the airport. but again, i want to hear from the body of people that are here today. one of the things that i wanted to ask you is -- so after looking at this data after 90 days. why do you think we have an increase in the amount of taxis on the streets of san francisco? that's an important goal. it's not just about the airport, but it's about serving the citizens of san francisco, and some of the things that you pointed out was yet, there's more medallions back on the streets, drivers back on the streets, but i just want to hear a little bit more about that. so we can dive in a little bit

deeper. >> sure. so the foreclosed medallions that are going back on the street, they are being run by yellow cab. >> supervisor safai: right. that's what i meant. they were bought by a company, and they're being driven by drivers. so i just want to talk about that a little bit more. and then, the other thing i wanted to say was why do you think that we haven't increased the number of drivers on the streets of san francisco, and how do we increase the number of drivers on the streets of san francisco? >> sure. and yellow is leasing an agreement with the credit union. but i think that's an age-old question, and i think that's -- >> supervisor safai: hold on a second. please, i just want to reiterate the rules of the chamber. if you don't approve of something, it's fine to put your hands -- thumbs down. it's fine to wave your hands, but we can't have outbursts. we want to hear from you.

we all know you're going to have your opportunity to speak at public comment, but we want to be respectful and follow the decorum of the chamber. >> sure. that's a good question, and it's an age-old question. i think it's something that many drivers will say there's no taxi business in the city, t.n.c.s have it all, and so i have to go to s.f.o. so we hear that, but one thing, looking at the data -- and some of it surprised me, and so we're happy to be able to paint a clear picture. we are seeing that the purchased medallion holders are serving s.f.o. almost exclusively, and so having a mix of types of trips will be

helpful. we also noticed something just this morning which i didn't think could be true at all, and i was very surprised about. k medallions have also increased their trips at s.f.o. so we have a 50% increased of k medallions serving s.f.o. >> supervisor safai: that's the post-k? >> yeah. >> supervisor safai: so the 558? >> yeah. so i think those factors go into play -- >> supervisor safai: go ahead. >> so i think that embracing the concept of a san francisco taxi driver, i serve the city, and the airport is a part of that service, i think will be helpful to shifting some of these dynamics. >> supervisor safai: supervisor peskin. >> chair peskin: when i

started, that practice was called dead heading to the airport. that practice is long gone. and first, i want to start with a question from supervisor fewer who -- questions, and i share her concern about why -- after what we've experienced relative to the sale of over 600 purchased medallions, why we're continuing to sell them or make them available for purchase. >> supervisor safai: is that true? >> yeah. so we still have an existing medallion sale program. we haven't had a sale since april 2016. >> supervisor peskin: so why do we continue with the fiction that they're available at this time? >> well, we still see a great value in the taxi industry and in this program, and so this is part of the -- the program we're working to support, and there is value. >> supervisor safai: but can i just jump in on that point?

>> chair peskin: sure. >> supervisor safai: i think part of your goal in this program was to increase the likelihood of more revenue for people that purchased the medallions. by continuing to sell them, you'd be undermining by what you're trying to do by increasing the amount of people that have access to the airport. >> well, i think there will be a point of diminishing returns, but i think the most efficient way to manage the resources at s.f.o. is by the virtual queue where if i'm a p medallion holder -- purchased medallion holder, i can still serve the city -- >> supervisor safai: no, i get that. and that seems like that's going to be a debated conversation. it doesn't make sense that you would want to continue to sell medallions when you've got ones that have decreased in value.

>> chair peskin: this may be a semantical issue -- >> are you talking about the 73 medallions that yellow is now running. >> chair peskin: no, any additional. so number one, net-net, this doesn't matter because for three years, no one has purchased one even though they could. but i actually think that the right signal to the market -- and i appreciate your bullishness that things will return, and i think that's the right way of thinking. but having said that -- and this is a suggestion, which is all i can do, and this is my fault because of prop a, is that there actually be a declaration that for a period of time that as we are putting these reforms in place, some of which are being embraced, some

of which are getting lots of thumbs down, is that we actually declare is that there's a moratorium -- it's six of one, half a dozen of the other because the market is not absorbing them, any way. i want to ask a question, and supervisor safai just kind of touched on it, which is if we were to expedite the virtual queue, which i realize that many of the people in this room do not like, and i understand that, as i said earlier, you're going to go slow and say hello and socialize the process. how fast could that actually technically happen? >> well, i think that's a question for s.f.o. they're leading the project, and i know it takes them time. it does even -- there's a vetting process, but there's a feedback process to make sure as we establish this new app, that it works for the intended

purpose. so i do believe s.f.o. is really working as hard as they can, and that unfortunately, the 2017 version of the virtual queue didn't go through at that time. but it was all teed up, ready to go in 2017, and it didn't go anywhere because of the taxi opposition. so i do believe s.f.o. is working as hard as they can. they've put together a taxi -- i believe a taxi committee to help given put. >> chair peskin: okay. i will, after we're done talking to you. one of the things in your slide deck is a taxi campaign. what is that?

>> well, that's something we need to structure carefully. there are a couple tricky areas. one is we don't want to select one color scheme over another or one group over another, so we have to think globally, taxi as an industry. and also, in terms of marketing, you need your product, your placement. there's certain strictures by which you do your marketing. it's how do we emphasize the marketing of the taxi industry. as we talk about the positives of the industry, you know, really look at customer service and why taxis are the better alternative. >> chair peskin: i appreciate that. to the couple of folks from the taxi industry who just gave

thumbs down on that, i just have to respectfully disagree with that. if the city and county of san francisco would want to increase business for your industry, i would think that you'd want that. i think s.f.o. has been remarkably helpful in this. part of it really begins here.

-- and i was like wow, that is exactly what increasing taxi advertising should look like, so i would like to bring my staff, mr. hepner, up to share a few images. i realize this is a departure from asking questions, but if mr. hepner, if you could show us what they do at baggage claim, where a disembarking passenger at j.f.k. goes, and they get this image. and to those of you in the industry who give a thumbs down, i hope you'll change your mind and give a thumbs up.

everybody but one person from the industry is giving a thumbs up, so i feel like we've made progress. this is what the inside of j.f.k. looks like. big, yellow and black advertisements. they don't say t.n.c., they don't say uber, they say taxi, that way. all right. next image, please. and there's what happens when you walk out of the terminal. so i am, in addition to virtual queueing, going to ask s.f.o. about that. don't worry, this is not going to be like renaming one of your terminals. miss toran, come back up. >> and that was great.

we would like to look to new york as a model we can use. >> chair peskin: thank you for that. i really appreciated seeing it at a global level. in your presentation, you had indicated that you had reduced fees to the industry by a little over $10 million, $10.2 million. are you contemplating for the coming year any reduction or waiver of fees? >> not for this budget cycle. we reduced it for the last budget cycle, and we reduced the post-k medallion renewal by 50%. >> chair peskin: thank you for that answer. and in the area of what i call price predictability -- by the way, i will say for the record i do not have an uber or lyft

application on my phone, and i have never been in an uber or lyft or sidecar or wyngs -- i think sidecar is no more. but i think predictability is part of what motivates users. i will tell you i have sat in the back of a taxi cab as my heart rate continued to increase from $38 to $42, and the taxi driver was getting happier with the increase. if there's some way to do price predictability, is there a way that when i get out of the

terminal, and it's congested, and the cab is likely to be stuck on the 280 or whatever it is, i am guaranteed to get to wherever i'm going on 50, or i am going to be guaranteed to get there in 15 minutes or for $30. is there a way to do that? >> yeah. right now, the driver can charge less than the metered amount, so it's up to the individual driver. the way you framed it, there's typically not an incentive for the driver to charge less than the meter amount, but it is allowable. so if a driver wants to, you know, say hey, 20 from here to there, and it's typically a $30 ride, that is allowable, but that is governed at the driver

level. we could discuss and we have discussed with color schemes having that at the color scheme level. this is something we're happy to revisit, but again, we need that active partnership with the taxi industry to really take on some changes. >> chair peskin: i'm going to touch on that. i do want to make one announcement, which is unfortunately supervisor safai has to leave, and i am going to have to leave, so if there is anybody here for item number 3, miss hale, and i asked my staff to tell you this, miss scarpulla, and people from the p.u.c., we want to have an equally number hearing on item number 3, i am going to call that ithearing in accordance wh

law, and i am going to continue that item because there is no way with all the public comment that we're about to get, and i apologize. it looks like you can go back to your office across the street, and i apologize. and if there are any members of the public who are here for that, you will be given an opportunity to testify, but it would be better if you came back next week where we're going to have a marathon hearing. i've instructed supervisor haney and supervisor safai that we're going to have a marathon on my birthday, land use hearing. [please stand by].

>> in order for us to pay invoices for these trips, they have to sign up as a city vendor? >> supervisor safai: can i just jump in? often times, our offices, we have a -- we have accounts that can be reimbursed. >> like a per diem. >> supervisor safai: we ha have expenses and all those things. if it were all on an app -- we're one of the largest

employers in the city. we have 25,000 people -- >> chair peskin: 35. >> supervisor safai: sorry. 35,000 people, when you include everyone. the point is that would be a wonderful source of revenue for an industry to tap into that would be exclusive to that industry. >> that's right. that's why we're pursuing it, yet. >> chair peskin: okay. supervisor haney, any questions from miss toran? because i know we have a lot of public comment. >> supervisor safai: can i make one last comment? >> chair peskin: and i'm going to have to find a substitute for me because i have to leave in 28 minutes. >> supervisor safai: i have three minutes. you brought up price predictablity. i think it's not the airport in general, but it's a good conversation to have. it's one of those aspects that makes the taxi market less competitive, but also, it's the

knowledge of which -- accessibility, so if you're in a more remote location, and you have the ability to track when and where you're going to be picked up, that's an asset. i just wanted to point that out. i know there's within some attempts in the past, like flywheel and all that, but if we're going to make an attempt and encourage this industry to thrive, there has to be a real step to ensure that it's not just price predictability, but it's accessibility. >> yeah. and i agree, getting on an app would be the first step. we have flywheel, but getting the industry on one or two apps that shows the supply that's

near me -- >> supervisor safai: i guess my point is since you are the regulating body of this industry, couldn't you require that -- couldn't you -- couldn't the sfmta put out an r.f.p. and say this is going to be the mechanism by which this industry operates? >> well, there is a requirement for all dispatch services to affiliate with an app, so while they do, i think it's not the experience that most taxi customers want. in terms of putting out an r.f.p. for the actual app itself -- i mean, is that a question? >> supervisor safai: i think you could also do that, but you could inquire if you're going to operate -- we're in a conversation about propping up an industry that purchased something that is losing value. we've talked about making then a vendor, we've talked about price predictability,

accessibility. i think you as a regulatory agency, not just in trying to increase access to the airport, has the ability to shape this industry, but i think there needs to be more of an aggressive step to do that. that's my point. >> well, i will point out that director hayashi, who's my predecessor, did have contracts of $6 million to do a plug and play app so that it wasn't one particular app company, but any company could plug and play, but that was something that the industry opposed. so again, needing the industry to step up and own their business, as well. the regulator -- i would say the regulator has a list of initiatives that we're working

on it. it really needs to be embraced and focused on customer service. everything you said, i agree with, that the customer wants that type of experience. >> supervisor safai: and again, i apologize that i have to leave. >> chair peskin: all right. get out of here -- just kidding. miss toran, if you'd come up on behalf of s.f.o. and address the queue question, and just pretending for a second that everybody in the industry embraced it, which is not the case, how long, given that in 2017, you're on the verge of i implementing it, and you embrace the j.f.k. advertising scheme that my staff so nicely

took pictures of? >> the taxi app, if we fast tracked it, 8 months would be the fastest we could get it out system wide after testing. we had abandoned it, and we have to go out and find a new vendor now because the vendor that was going to help us with it last time is no longer under contract, so that's something else we have to go through. if we were under contract, we could shave a couple of months off of the process. >> chair peskin: okay. close enough for government work. and the advertising? >> i would say the difference between s.f.o. and j.f.k., in my experience in using taxis, is we almost never have a queue in the taxi line. we've never had a supply issue. so once you get to the taxi

zone, you can use it and go, and the people that use it like that features of it. we do have the columns painted, that say taxi zones, so i think it's more designated, when i want a taxi, where do i go to get that taxi. >> chair peskin: okay. to be continued on coming to your airport after the board, i am going to do my own private investigation, and i will get back to you on that. before we go to public comment, i've got one piece of housekeeping to do. madam clerk, could you please read item number 3. >> clerk: item 3 is a hearing to receive a report from the san francisco public utilities commission on options for improving electric service through acquisition, construction or completion of

public utilities prudent to regulation 19 -- pursuant to regulation 191.03. >> chair peskin: is there any questions from my colleagues? seeing none, any public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. and now, for public comment on item 2. i know we have a lot of public comment. and public comment, even though i know there's a lot of you, and i have to leave -- so here's the deal. i can be here for 25 more minutes. i am going to ask my staff, mr. hepner, could see if he can -- to see if he can go down the

hallway and get the president of the board and see if he can assign another member so we don't lose our quorum, which is two people. normally, what we'd do in this is limit public comment to one minute, which is not okay. so i'm going to do two minutes of public comment, and if any members of this panel want to ask questions, which i'm going to have questions, we can go beyond two minutes. >> your interest and your concern for your industry is very, very, very appreciated. we're going to need your help. i guess the biggest two points that i want to talk about are the fact that this industry, like many others, is coin operated, so if you follow the money, you know how people are going to react. >> chair peskin: that's why they all go to the airport.

>> correct. what we told the m.t.a. did happen in my opinion. the pre-k medallions that are banned from the airport are all but sitting. that's 185 less medallions in the city or in circulation to serve the city and to serve the airport. in addition, he syou saw a 16% decrease in city service because those guys are incentivized to go down and work the airport. and with the recent t.n.c. ruled that have been implemented at s.f.o., i think that is the reason for the spike that indicate toran referred to about the number of k medallions at s.f.o. making it harder has pushed folks to the convenient curb that taxis sit at.

really, i'm disappointed in the fact that there's this push of financial resources and value to the fee medallions versus more of a policy to improve the industry in general and to make sure that we're improving the quality of service for all of san francisco and s.f.o. >> chair peskin: all right. here are my questions. they're not specifically related to s.f.o., but they are related to taxi industry, and you and my father have been in my office, and we've talked about this. and i know that -- don't worry, your time is not up. >> i understand. >> chair peskin: you have foreclosed on a number of color schemes and medallions. you have been working on a number of reforms that could come out of the color schemes that are within your control specifically around centralized dispatch. how is that going? >> so we -- we're in the --

we're actually in the middle of implementing our new technology system right now. part of that technology system is a new app that will be released in approximately 45 days, and it contains a lot of the features that were just spoken about, so consumers will be able to estimate their trips and get an estimated price for their trips. we as a company will have the ability to set fixed rates from s.f.o., so a lot of that that kate was talking about, we are implementing without the need for regulation. i am encouraging all color schemes to participate in this, as well. >> chair peskin: our next speaker, mr. bruberg was a proponent of centralized dispatch, and yellow hated it. and today, i don't think you have a choice if you're being

smart and rational, but that is my opinion. you will do what you will do. as to the other items discussed in my office, could you elucidate about what they are? >> could you be more specific? >> chair peskin: we talked about centralized dispatch, apps like flywheel -- you heard very politely from ms. toran, i'm trying to help, but if i could get more help from the industry, i could do more. could you drill down on that. >> yeah. we're willing to cooperate with the m.t.a. on any level they want. >> chair peskin: i like the idea that i could use a city taxi in the course of my job

and be able to be reimbursed for it, although to be told, the clerk of the board of supervisors doesn't reimburse board members for nothing. >> we're already talking to -- we're working with the m.t.a. on the pilot program that kate discussed, and part of that is contingent on our app being released, which is going to be released shortly. and so we -- we're already making those efforts that kate was talking about. >> chair peskin: thank you. supervisor haney, any questions for mr. suis? seeing none, i will call these out in the order that i have them. mark, nathan, who formerly was you at yellow cab. and then jacob -- >> thank you.

>> chair peskin: thank you. if you will lineup to your right, my left. and by the way, i still have not found a substitute to serve with supervisor haney, so in 20 minutes, if any member of the board of supervisors -- if another member of the board of supervisors does not show up, we are going to have to continue the balance of public comment to our meeting of june the 17, my birthday. mr. gruberg, the floor is yours. >> thank you, supervisor peskin, supervisor haney, matt gruberg, a member of the taxi coalition which is pursuing a

lawsuit against the m.t.a. and the city over these discriminatory rules that have been imposed against taxis at the airport. i realize this hearing has taken a broader scope than the report which is the subject of the hearing, but i'm going to limit my answer to the report and happy to answer any questions, as well. if you look at some of the numbers in this report, i believe that they bear much more scrutiny, and i hope that other speakers will talk about that. but i want to talk about what's missing in the report, because it tells you that it has accomplished what it's bound to accomplish, if giving people a preference at the airport, that they're going to get more rides out of the airport, that their waiting times are going to be shorter, and they're going to make more money at the airport. this is not a zero sum game. this is a negative sum game because the number of trips out

of the airport have declined and declined and declined. and what we've learned is that trips in the city have also declined 16% over the last year. so by favoring some and putting more money in the pockets of some, that means that others are being disproportionately hurt, and nothing of that is in the report. how much are drivers who can't go to the airport hurting? how many drivers have left the industry? how many medallions are off the street and not serving the public because they can't go to the airport? and so on and so forth, so this report is sorely lacking, and i hope that we see a better one the next time. thank you. >> chair peskin: thank you, mr. gruberg. next speaker, please. >> nathan dreary. i started this business in 1965, in graduate school at san

francisco state. >> chair peskin: with jimmy steele. >> no, not jimmy steele. he was in desoto in 1965. i served as the president of yellow cab, and director of several boards. i just have one issue to address. this word that's being bandied about here and not being freely understood, purchased. purchased. you look at the agreements and the contracts between the drivers that supposedly purchased these contracts, or medallions that they purchased, between the sfmta and the drivers and the federal credit union, and there is no evidence in my mind that anybody actually bought anything. they don't own these permits.

they have no equity, they have no title in them. if you look at this very closely, at these agreements, it is very clear that the relationship between the drivers, the banks, and the sfmta is, i'm sorry to say, something that i would call sharecropper. they are sharecroppers because they don't have any title to these permits, and they have no incentive to build on this. no encouragement to build on the future. and that was the problem that was created. it was right there in the beginning on the hayashi plan.

i discussed it with her. i told her so. [inaudible] >> chair peskin: so your time is up, but i'm more than willing to discuss with city staff through to the sfmta, your comment. this is a fee title, so you are right in that regard. i don't know if the "purchased medallions" -- because indeed, a fee was tendered to the city for a limited right -- whether or not the industry would be in a different place today, but if it you believe that we could cure this problem by giving fee title absolute if you will, as they say in the real estate business, i'm willing to have that conversation with you. so at some point, mr. drury,

when you're in the city and county of san francisco and miss toran, and my staff, perhaps what i can do under the boundaries of the brown act, supervisor safai and his staff should sit down and have that meeting. i really appreciate, given your longevity in the city, your coming down and commenting today. who was the guy running the committee when quentin kopp passed supervisor k? next speaker, please.

>> good afternoon, supervisor peskin, and thank you, supervisor haney for being here. kind of difficult to find the words that are appropriate to say what i want to say. we -- our fleet comprised of about 45% pre-k medallions, and let me tell you, supervisor peskin, that those pre-k medallions were old purchased medallions. they were all purchased before 1978 -- >> chair peskin: 1976. >> 1976, i'm sorry. these all people followed to

the letter of the law, and they obtained their permit as the law allowed them. and to me what was the consequences is a scapegoat and a very unfair approach to the problem that i doubt has a solution. about 60% of the post-k medallions were also dropped. the taxi business consists of three main components. you have ride share, you have e hailed, and you have street hailed business. if you take one of these chunks away, it results in a pretty

big chunk being taken away from the drivers, and that's why i don't think we can regulate that. >> chair peskin: thank you. and i have not yet -- despite all of my attempts, succeeded in finding a supervisor to replace me. that means we've got ten minutes, and i super apologize. it means we'll continue it to june the 17. but the less of you that speaks, the more of you will speak on june 17 unless a colleague comes and rescues me. next speaker, please. >> okay. doug, with luxor. my income's actually lowered since the last three months, and i have -- typically, before this happened, i was one of the drivers that played the bayview and the airport on sunday

nights. i'd pick up stuff that was right off the highways and still do the airport at the same time, but this was a good thing. but this new thing, because i lose holding times in the pen, like, an hour but now, i can't do that as a strategy. i think the loss of income has made this industry dangerous for drivers. i've almost gotten into a fistfight with another k-driver over a fee dispute for a ride that went to palm springs from the airport. it's not a good thing. and with all due respect to kate toran, i think we need to evaluate her leadership and power over this regulatory thing. there's major taxi stands at,

like, the hyatt regency, at the up i donunion hotel. i think signs are a very basic thing. people working in the industry aren't regulating the industry. when i was a corporate chauffeur, we actually had to carry i.d. cards, and we didn't carry them, we would get fined by s.f.g.t.u. i think there is a requirement for that, and how can somebody enforce that? >> chair peskin: like i said, we've got to get into an agreement with san mateo county. next speaker. >> thank you so much for you gather all the people here

today. [please stand by]. >> the problem we have, we have a disease called cancer, and they're diagnosing with tuberculosis, and that never happened before. we work hard, and they pay us and give us our money back. this will not work, i cannot live anymore in the dark. thank you so much, sir.

god bless you. >> chair peskin: thank you. i believe that supervisor fewer has finished her last meeting and will be able to attend momentarily. she just needs to get assigned by the president of the board of supervisors, supervisor norman yee.

>> -- we are disgruntled with sfmta. we cannot lie on this deficit. there is no way to get out of it. we worked hard to get to best days of our lives, but our dreams are shattered. we are limping on. can't work longer hours. you have uber and ride share drivers. you have no pity for us. so far, you've done nothing for us. buy back the medallion and resolve the issue with us. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. next speaker, please.

>>. >> yeah. so i've been concerned about supervisor fewer because her concern about the taxi drivers is really nothing. but supervisor peskin, your concern with the taxi driver's, we've been dealing with you for over one year. i really appreciate you brought out the point and you've got a lot of courage to do that. i don't know if anybody besides you have the guts to do it. but hats off to you for doing