Originally published in the S.F. Examiner
on May 30, 2019.

Venturing into Fisherman’s Wharf while the sun’s still out is a fool’s errand. But once the cold winds start to blow and the fog comes rolling in so fast it chills you to the bone, all the tourists dressed in t-shirts, shorts and miniskirts rush the Pier 39 cabstand to escape the chill.

Mostly to step between the taxis lined up and reach their Ubers and Lyfts. But when it’s busy, there are enough folks taking cabs to justify the hassle of dealing with the traffic quagmire.

Besides a battalion of unmarked sedans, tour buses and shuttles compete with pedicabs and taxis for space along the curb that stretches from the Aquarium to The Embarcadero. Their frustrated honking sounds like foghorns.

In the melee, backloading is rampant. But when people dressed for May weather in Texas and Florida open your back door seeking sanctuary and transport, do you tell them to go to the front of the line? No, you take the fare and fight your way out of the congestion.

Read the rest here.

[photo by Trevor Johnson]

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