Crackdown on city’s imposter cabbies ramps up
August 31, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO — The City is elevating an already aggressive crackdown on illegal taxi drivers.
At least 30 illegitimate cab companies are operating in San Francisco, according to city estimates. Officials say the cabs do more than take away business from legitimate drivers. They can endanger passengers because operators don’t have to undergo criminal background checks and their vehicles are not inspected by The City for safety hazards.
Illegal cabs also tend to charge passengers more than the usual rates, according to Mark Gruberg, a longtime cabbie and spokesman for United Taxicab Workers.
A police report cited nearly 200 illegal cab pickups in San Francisco last year and officers on taxi detail arrested 33 drivers in December alone. The Municipal Transportation Agency, which assumed control of the troubled industry in March and is focused on busting imposters, said more than police enforcement is needed. One step in that direction is a $5,000 fine per violation on illegal cabbies or businesses.
The new citation — approved unanimously by the transit agency’s board of directors in April — was welcomed by The City’s legitimate drivers.
Enforcing that penalty, however, has not been easy. Before an investigation can be launched, the transit agency must prove that allegedly illegal entities are operating without a permit and falsely posing as legitimate cab services.
It must also prove drivers collected passengers from street hails or dispatches, a difficult task because investigators must essentially
catch drivers in the act of carrying or soliciting passengers.
Gathering all that evidence in order to make a case for a $5,000 fine has been no easy task, according to transit agency officials.
In order to make enforcement more practical, officials now want to amend the resolution to reduce the amount of evidence needed to seek fines. The new proposal would allow the transit agency to launch probes of illegal companies based on proof a cab is operating without a permit and is either carrying passengers illegally or pretending to be legitimate, rather than trying to prove all three scenarios, spokeswoman Kristen Holland said.
The board of directors will vote on the amendment during its Tuesday meeting at City Hall.
maldax@sfexaminer.com
