and they would like a nice clean taxicab. those are the things that they want without having to have a steady. a study is good, but without that, that is what passengers generally want, and these days, they want to pay with a credit card. there is reliability, availability, and courteous, knowledgeable cabdrivers who know what they are doing. i am very much for a single operator taxing. i have dropped off single operator leaflets and while back, asking you guys to support that, and the reason why i support that is because i feel very much like an outsourced workers. what a single operator tax and get will do is for the drivers who want it, and line deputy director hayashi said, it will not be for everyone. it will be for those who are career minded, who see this as an opportunity. it would allow them to have their own cabs and operate them like a real business, and these taxicab's can function when it is busy, on friday, saturday nights, in a marathon or something like that, so i very much support these taxicabs. i can tell y

it used to be every taxicab expired on december 31. that is not workable because it is hard to process that many people for a system on any certain date, so we changed the system to be around the birthday, said the renewal around a driver's birthday. the first renewals will come up in august. that is why we want to have some curriculum in june to give them at least 60 days to deal with the requirement. supervisor mar: so i do not see any other question. supervisor wiener? supervisor wiener: thank you. the purpose of this hearing is not to just slay the mta and say, "you should be doing this or that." is to assure that there is good work being done within the agency to improve service. i appreciate the detailed presentation. i hope it is helpful to the public. in terms of the process of a more significant potential expansion, the number of taxicabs beyond, i think 85 potential medallions that were authorized, what is the timetable looking like? i know we have some ceqa issues. could you just flush out what the timeline looks like? >> we

now, with the cooperation of taxicab companies, the taxicab commission, sfmta, with the grants that had been derived through the leadership of our department of environment, working with our bay area quality care management district, the county transportation authority, we found that magic that we often wish we would have. that has resulted in a complete taxi fleet that is 92% alternative fuel. and that while they have grown. this is not a reduction in the fleet. i think they have actually doubled the number of taxis, but 92% of them are running on alternative fuel. that means a tremendous reduction in our carbon emissions. that 49% that has been reached per vehicle essentially translates into 35,000 metric tons annually of emissions that are no longer limited by our taxi fleet. it is equivalent to taking out 690 cars on an annual basis. while we accomplish those very nice numbers, there is an economic reality to this. they reduce our cost by $11 million annually. they have this alternative fuel vehicles. they save an inordinate amount of money. even the bricks that have to replace. whe

the answer is more taxicabs. we are cautiously optimistic that the board members are going to move in that direction, so if you can enjoy them on, please do. thank you. supervisor wiener: next speaker. mr. grueber. >> thank you. i am with united taxicabs. there is one message and i would like to convey. it is that there must be improvements, not just in the quantity of taxicabs that are serving the public but in the efficiency of windows -- them serving. you can improve service by adding taxicab's of two. , and then you reach a point of diminishing returns because you are affecting the driver and, by doing that, and the more taxicab's you put on the street, more drivers have to struggle to make a living. it will impact the quality of service. it will impact the safety of services. a good steady goes back a few years now let shares there is an inverse ratio, an inverse proportion between the driver in, and the number of accidents become a good study -- a good study goes back a few years and shows there is an inver

and i want to thank all of you from the taxicab industry. what was accomplished from this ordinance should be the model of how we promote future for rums, when we talk about the taxi world here. we had a hearing at the border supervisors about future reforms. we know there are many things we need to fix in the taxicab world. i hope it is through a model of ideas from taxicab drivers, from the industry working with city officials, to make sure that we are leading the way when it comes to taxis. thank you so much for being here. [applause] >> our next speaker is the person everyone has been referencing, a former taxi cab driver, also the president of the taxicab commission. mr. paul gillespie. [applause] >> thank you, everyone, for being here, alleging the second- best thing we have done as the taxi commission. the first thing that we -- the first best thing that we did was hiring naomi kelly. i am glad she has a new position in san francisco. if any of you are here because we -- you are upset about what we did and you want to bend, i suggest

primarily, 1, increasing supply of taxicabs. we do not have enough in my view in the city to adequately serve our residents, our visitors, and our businesses, and number two, improving our dispatch system, either by a centralized dispatch or a coordinated dispatch to make sure that taxicab's can officially be sent where they need to go, including to the parts of the sitting that are not saturated, whether it is parts on the west side or the southeastern part of the city where it is extremely hard, even harder to get a taxi cab than in some of the more central geographic areas. so as part of the resolution last year, we requested quarterly updates from the mta on where we are with the taxicab system, what progress we have seen, what the plans are to increase service, and this is the first of those quarterly hearings, so i want to welcome the mta. i look forward to the presentation, and i know you have been focused on this a lot, full time, for a while, and i want to thank you for your work in helping to improve our system, so mta

i believe that this vehicle, the mock up is still clearly identifiable as a taxicab. we would ask that specifically section 11-13.i.7 be modified to allow the door wrap ads. this is not the biggest revenue issue before you today. it is relatively small in the grand scheme of things. it was not that long ago that revenues were tight. i would ask you, for your sake in the cab company sake, that this revenue helps us to defray some of the cost. [tone] >> thank you. >> [reads names] >> thank you. this time i am just speaking on behalf of green cab. we have over 50 drivers that are members and part owners of the company in san francisco, running on cooperative principles. although there is another company that uses cooperative in its name. >> i wanted to propose amendments -- i wanted to propose amendments to section 1c8. the number that is associated with -- with the side of the cabinet. our green cab number is on the side. an easy one for the public to remember. the dispatch service that we subscribe to, the calls are put out to all of the citywide drivers. likewise, the

your website still stings in terms of taxicab information. i am sorry. give us a hand and made -- make chris hayashi directly under director reiskin. chairman nolan: thank you. secretary boomer: [reading names] chairman nolan: good afternoon. >> hello, i am -- as you look at reforms coming up here shortly, there is no way you are going to be avoiding a lot of drivers and stakeholders here. i want to remind you folks about what the key for the industry has been. i purchased desoto cab company last year. i had a very i opening experience in san francisco, and i want to highlight some things that i think are seriously accepted as problems in the industry as you try to address them in the weeks and months. first, there is not enough taxis in san francisco, and the taxis that we are using, more than half of the 1500 plus taxicab's we have are not picking up any neighborhood calls, paratransit, disabled communities, some of those we currently have in service, less than half are actually serving the neighborhoods and the public. the rest are at the airport and

i want to thank everyone here today, the taxicab industry, everyone who supported this policy, all the way to making it a success. thank you very much. [applause] >> our next speaker arguably has one of the toughest jobs in san francisco, overseeing muni and the parking and traffic department. but will come and reiskin, director of the sfmta. -- let's welcome ed reiskin, director of the sfmta. >> we are charged with implementing the city's transit first policy. in order for transit first to work in san francisco, we need excellent taxi service. as much as we would like to see you hot on muni, your bike, or what we need to go, sometimes you need a car. from a transportation perspective, the most efficient way for us to meet that need, one of them is through taxicabs. i think presidents chiu's experience this morning manifest that. with better service, his girlfriend can get rid of her car. to the extent we can meet that need in san francisco with cleaner vehicles, then we are achieving environmental goals as well. paul's reminder to us, with those sobering statistics, it is really impor

. >> reporter: this abc taxicab is now part of a police investigation. the owner of the company is back in the office working on security upgrades after the lead driver was stabbed. >> he was on the radio trying to tell him he had been robnd and stabbed and he wanted him to call me. >> deputies say the 53-year-old was asked to take a man to fountain green road in bellaire. it was a quick trip, just five minutes away from the pickup site. >> a taxicab driver that had been stabbed by a fare that he picked up in the 1600 block of chester way. the individual had demanded money. >> donnelly was stabnd in the upper torso and taken to shock trauma in serious condition. the suspect fled. >> it has been a flood of calls here and customers are very angry, because a lot of people depend on us and the fear is that we will quit driving at night. >> the stabbing is it worst the company has seen so the owner will install security in the cashes and no cash. >> we have the worst job than police officers. at least they are armed. they have something to protect themselves