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San Francisco taxi alliance urges city to regulate ride-hailing companies amid driver distress
Summary
Representatives of the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance urged supervisors to step in and regulate ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, saying drivers are earning below minimum wage and public safety and disability service concerns persist.
Representatives of the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance urged the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 8 to take regulatory action against ride-hailing services, arguing the companies’ operations are harming taxi drivers and essential city services.
Mark Gruber, speaking for the Taxi Workers Alliance and DeSoto Cab, said the industry faces “devastating” effects from services such as Uber and Lyft: drivers are sometimes earning less than the minimum wage, shifts are going unfilled and cab companies are struggling to operate. He urged the city to strengthen regulation and enforcement and to consider measures in a white paper produced by the Alliance and attorney Crystal [last name not specified in transcript].
Gruber cited public-safety and disability-access implications, saying taxis perform “an essential city service” for which ride-hailing companies are not a full substitute. He praised District Attorney George Gascon for steps taken so far and urged “much more” from city government.
The remarks were delivered during the public-comment portion of the board’s inaugural meeting; supervisors did not take direct action on the request during the session. Gruber said the Alliance had distributed a white paper and a legal analysis arguing the city has the authority to regulate these companies and asked that supervisors review it and consider hearings or rulemaking.
