tncs stands for "transportation network company." it of course came about because of the ability to dispatch this form of transportation on a smartphone platform and what distinguishs a tnc as opposed to a limousine or taxi, it's supposed to be in a personal vehicle. so taxis have traditionally had a monopoly over point to point transportation and it has forced to compete for business based on good public service. so that outcome has been good. we continue to do everything that we can before-and-after the tncs appeared to build the level of service of the taxi industry, including deployment by smartphone. for example, most of our san francisco taxis are available through a fly wheel application. but with that said, even though competition is generally good, this is artificial competition. it started out by representing itself as carpools, which it was not. it started out representing itself as fares being voluntary donations, when they were not. the cpuc appropriately found that this is commercial for-hire transportation. there is no

i'll have to get used to tncs as the term. but these new types of companies that are providing popular transportation services, i use them once in a while as well, are operating in what i would call a wild west of unchecked industry without any controls and regulations where efforts to protect public safety and consumer safety. also as we've seen from a budget analyst report, [speaker not understood] carefully rapidly expanding as well as a new industry and business is it the city. some of the statistics i've seen are -- in the city we have about 9,000 cab drivers and about 1,856 full-time cabs on the street, and yet according to the budget analyst report i commissioned from june 9, we are seeing a rapid expansion of an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 tnc drivers operating in san francisco. so, it's a huge industry that's expanding. and last week our budget and legislative analyst, the report that they competed, also detailed a number of risks that are raised by this expansion of this industry, and it followed a march 6 hearing on t

my last thing is taxi drivers or taxi service versus tncs. what if your city was in an emergency state, such as muni not working -- sorry. okay? and then muni not working for several days, okay? and people are trying to hail taxis and there weren't enough taxis. >> as we develop the taxi technology, we get increasing capacity to be able to address things like that. in fact, we did address it in the recent event in which muni wasn't operational. and we now have technology that makes it possible for us to do much better instantaneous communication with taxi drivers and their vehicles. i think that the next step is actually to think about emergency planning, to utilize the taxi fleet in the event of an emergency. like a public emergency. if there was a tsunami, for example, and we wanted to evacuate one part of the city? >> right. >> i think that one of the next steps of planning for our team is to think through how we can effectively use that incredible resource of 1700 vehicles with passenger capacity for four in each vehicle. so that is quite

they want mayor ed lee to facilitate a discussion between the air port and the tncs. >> for now, tncirport while police warn the public not to use the ride service companies. something passengers like this don't realize it's against the law at the airport. >> you put yourself at risk if you're going to get into a car and you don't know whether or not the driver has a license, whether that car is insured. >> we also duh is covered officials are now citing wide service drivers operating without permits: police found one driver who is a registered sex offender and at the airport to pick up a 22-year-old woman driving alone. >> if you have a tip, give us a call at 888-996-tips. or send us an e-mail to the unit. >> student loan debt. president obama is taking action tomorrow that could benefit millions of americans. five million people with older loans would become eligible. >> the average undergraduate student garage waters almost $30,000. and i've heard from too many young people who are frustrated that they've done everything they were supposed to do. and, now, they're paying the price

these tncs do not at all. i also echo bob planthold's comments and walter parks. i'm a little pessimistic, because i feel the train already left the system, unlike north carolina north new york city where they result in 50% of taxis being accessible and others are protecting the taxi industry, which means that they are also protecting the consumer. i'm afraid california and san francisco, the train has already left the system, even before the tncs become so big and powerful. the ramp taxi service and i'm speaking of private taxi as opposed to the paratransit program, because that is what i have familiarity with. it has been goingcoun hill. i have some personal examples, which would take more time than we have, but basically, an examples of friends as well. but basically, the only place in the last several years where i feel as somebody in a wheelchair you could count on getting a taxi, if you arrive at the airport, you can find one. that is still the case, but if you want to call a taxi in san francisco, that is accessible, it's totally hit-or-miss to the point th

the tncs are regulated by the california public utilities commission. the disability community has raised concerns that these new transportation services may not be accessible to people with disabilities. presentation by christiane hayashi, san francisco municipal transportation agency, deputy director for taxis and accessible services kate toran, san francisco municipal transportation agency agency, paratransit manager. there will be a break, the council will take a 10- minute break. item 7, information item, ada transition plan capital projects for fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2016. an annual update on requested capital funds to provide design and construction on the remainder of the city's ada transition plan projects. information on other ada transition plan projected that are currently in design and construction, presentation by john paul scott deputy director for physical access, mayor's office on disability. public comment is welcome. item 8, information item. play area ada checklist. an overview of the play area ada check lift for new city p

we've come up with folks that give a phone that is the tnc, you know, app connected phone, and given it to someone else to drive. >> coming up tonight, why the heads of uber and lift and side karsay the airport is being unreasonable and that's why they are resisting getting the permits. at least kershner will have the full investigation tonight at 11:00. >>> a stanford professor is out on half million dollars bail after he was caught with a hand grenade in his luggage. this is the photo of the world war ii hand grenade. gary cox was boarding a flight at l.a.x. he told the "l.a. times" it was an honest mistake. he said his father used it as a paperweight for decades. after his father died, cox was bringing some of his father's belongings home to palo alto. he never thought the grenade still had explosive capabilities. the terminal was evacuated. the bomb squad destroyed the device. cox police told him charges would be dropped. >> that is shocking. >>> released hostage sergeant bowe bergdahl is resting this morning in germany where he will begin his transition from taliban captivity ba