Taxi drivers urge Board of Appeals to defend appellants’ right to review MTA actions

During general public comment at the Nov. 30 meeting of the San Francisco Board of Appeals, Carl McMurdo and a career cab driver calling as Mr. Fonseca urged the board to defend long‑standing rights of taxi permit appellants. McMurdo said a recent Taxi Outreach meeting used familiar language about a ‘‘permit harmonization process’’ and warned it could effectively remove independent review rights for elderly or disabled drivers; he urged the board to challenge the city attorney should the MTA seek to curtail appeal rights.

Mr. Fonseca supported McMurdo’s remarks and asked the board to write both the city attorney and the mayor, with a copy to the Board of Supervisors, to preserve due‑process rights for taxi permit holders. He told the board he had lost confidence in regulators and said the MTA indicated the item may return to its agenda in January.

Board staff did not take a formal action on the taxi comments at the Nov. 30 hearing, but commissioners noted the concern and earlier agenda scheduling that will allow further public consideration of taxi‑related rule changes. The Board had earlier agreed to add a related item to a future meeting record (as noted in the minutes discussion).