Heineke reappointment advances amid heated public testimony from taxi drivers and community groups

The Rules Committee advanced Mayor Lee’s reappointment of Malcolm Heineke to the SFMTA Board of Directors on April 19 after extended public testimony for and against the nomination.

Heineke introduced his priorities as an MTA board member — taxi service, customer efficiency, the TEP/central subway and maintenance — and emphasized daily Muni use as informing his perspective. He described a need to balance service and maintenance funding and said he was open to further discussion about which services should be funded out of Muni revenues.

Public comment that followed was sharply divided. Multiple taxi drivers and industry spokespeople accused the SFMTA under Heineke of treating the taxi industry as a revenue source for Muni and alleged policies that would disadvantage drivers, including medallion leasing proposals and credit-card fee structures. One commenter warned the nomination could make the taxi industry “a cash cow for the MTA” and said Heineke-backed policies would require drivers to pay “$15,000,000 to $20,000,000 every year.”

Supporters including MTA Director Cheryl Brinkman and representatives from BrightLine and other community groups defended Heineke, citing his legal knowledge, dedication to service improvements and progress on local-hire goals. Heineke acknowledged the drivers’ concerns and said he hears them, that Prop K reforms must be sensitive to drivers who organized their lives around the prior system, and that some proposals had been withdrawn in response to feedback.

After the public record, the committee voted to advance Heineke’s reappointment to the full Board without recorded opposition. The item will be considered by the Board at its next meeting.