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You Never Know When You’ll Need a Taxi

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Originally published in the S.F. Examiner
on August 28, 2019.

I know you shouldn’t do it, but I do it anyway…

I read the comments.

Sometimes, I skip the content entirely and go straight to the comments.

As is often the case with internet discussions, they’re usually nasty, prejudiced, ill informed and contribute nothing beneficial to society. In other words, they’re absolutely entertaining.

It’s all fun and games, though, until the commentary is directed at taxis. Like the recent article in The Chronicle about medallion holders struggling to survive in the age of Uber and Lyft. The comments were so vitriolic, my eyes practically burned from reading them.

Even though the piece was mostly sympathetic to the plight of cab drivers who purchased medallions that are now worthless, the readers compelled to leave comments overlooked the pathos and delighted in their misfortune.

“Good! Let them suffer!” “Taxis can’t die fast enough.” “Boo hoo. Cry me a river.”

The reason for all this hatred? Back in the day, cab drivers were rude, refused to take people to the Avenues, rarely showed up on time, if at all, claimed their credit card machines were broken and didn’t clean their vehicles well enough.

But, but, but, I wanted to reply. That was then. This is now. Most of the bad players have left the industry. So why continue to hold those of us who are more than willing to serve the public accountable for what happened in the past?

Well, if I’ve learned anything from driving a taxi it’s that San Franciscans love to complain about public transportation and they often hold grudges. Nothing I say will ever change that. And I’ve tried.

Read the rest here.

Wanna Go for a Ride?

Just released: Dispatches from Behind the Wheel: The Omnibus –
The Complete Zine Series about Driving for Hire in San Francisco

A Phony Lid paperback original. Includes all four issue of Behind the Wheel, revised and expanded with additional content. A Lyft Driver’s Log • Notes from an Uber/Lyft • From Uber/Lyft to Taxi • The Thin Checkered Line

Get all the details here.

 

 

 

‘Tis the Season to Go Old School

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My column for the S.F. Examiner published on Dec. 13, 2018 is about avoiding the debauchery of SantaCon while transporting revelers stranded at company holiday parties in remote parts of the city …

With the holidays fast approaching, there are certain things a taxi driver can count on: Union Square will be packed with shoppers and families enjoying the festive atmosphere, which means gridlocked traffic; most of the event spaces around town will host company-sponsored Christmas parties; and thousands of revelers will don red velvet suits and wreak havoc throughout The City during SantaCon.

In years past, I’d venture into the sloshed fields to document the annual bar crawl out of journalistic responsibility. But now that there’s a toddler in my life, I deal with enough bodily fluids. So last Saturday, with SantaCon happening, I avoid the roving bands of Santas, sexy Santas, elves and reindeer altogether and focus on more profitable, and less disorderly, opportunities. Like the Facebook bash at the Palace of Fine Arts …

Normally, I wouldn’t have even thought to look for fares in the Marina, given its proximity to a plethora of SantaCon-friendly bars, had Loco not mentioned the event on the Hackers message board. And I still wouldn’t have ventured north of Broadway if I didn’t get a fare to Sacramento and Broderick. But seeing as how the Marina isn’t too much of a schlep from Laurel Heights, I follow Loco’s advice and take Divisadero to Lombard, go around the Palace of Fine Arts to Marina Boulevard and join a long procession of Ubers and Lyfts waiting to enter a quasi cattle corral that winds through a parking lot towards the front of the museum, where several hundred people are waiting for rides.

Read the rest here.

 

What Would Herb Caen Say?

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SF-remembered-Herb-Caen

It may seem impressive: On this Facebook group alone, my column last week garnered 544 Facebook reactions, 332 comments, 44 shares… You’d almost think that these numbers led to a higher than usual page count for my column this week, factoring in my other promotional efforts on Facebook and Twitter… But that wasn’t the case at all.

Once I started reading the comments on the post in San Francisco Remembered, it was obvious the group members weren’t clicking the link, just sharing their memories and feelings about Herb Caen and how they think he’d view The City today. Had they read the column, though, they’d see that Herb Caen was discussing the same issues we’re dealing with now in the early 1960s. That’s what I meant by “My discoveries may surprise you…”

Whatever. More than anything, I just wanted to get that question out there and see how people would respond.

To see what Herb Caen might say, click here.