In the first part of this post, I noted that I had written a letter to the Taxicab Commission of San Francisco. Well, they actually wrote back already with a more impressive response than I expected. My expectations were either a form letter or a standard response slightly tailored to my original note. I think Heidi Machen took the time to really read and respond individually to my letter.
I am in receipt of your letter, dated November 5, in which you chronicle a weekend of bad experiences with San Francisco taxi drivers. Thank you for taking the time to contact us.
First, let me say that I am sorry that you and your wife left the city with a bad impression of San Francisco taxis. Taxi Commission makes every effort to ensure that visitors and residents are safely transported, including requiring three days of training prior to being licensed. We have recently added 3-1-1 to our arsenal of tools in monitoring service: any customer can phone 3-1-1 to report a complaint – or hopefully at times, a compliment – about the taxi in which they are traveling. It helps to have as full information as possible since we regulate 1400 taxis spread disparately among 34 taxi companies. All taxi numbers, displayed on the side and rear of the taxis as well as on the rate cards inside the taxi, are unique to that taxi and even more helpful to have than knowing the taxi company.
Taxi drivers are held to a least the same standards as other drivers on the road and do not enjoy special immunity from the Police if they violate traffic laws; in fact, they may suffer administrative penalties along with infraction penalties for violations. Taxi companies are motivated to only retain good drivers since they risk property and personal liability in the event of accidents, thus the industry tends to be self-regulated in favor of better drivers. Unlike government civil service workers, taxi companies can readily terminate their drivers in the event of accidents or if drivers accrue substantiated complaints.
All this said, San Francisco has a high incidence of red light running, for whatever reason. The city has taken many steps to remedy this occurrence over the last decade, such as installing more all-direction-red signaled intersections, working with the state to increase the fines for red light running to nearly $300 per incident, and installing red-light cameras at several intersections. We are doing a lot – and, thus, it is sad to hear that visitors such as you and your wife continue to have bad experiences.
Best wishes to your speedy recovery.