- Target:
- San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- www.resetsanfrancisco.org
The San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency is hearing plans that could raise the fares of some rides by more than 70%. And if you're picked up from home during rush hour, your fare could nearly double.
This includes a $5 surcharge for at-home pick up during rush hours and a $1/mile increase in meter charge.
Taxi fares have not been increased since 2003 whereas we have experienced a 19% inflation since then. In addition, gas prices have nearly doubled.
It is absolutely vital to ensure that the drivers are compensated fairly with a living wage and provided with the necessary benefits (e.g. health coverage). The "gate charge" that taxi drivers must pay as their rent for their cabs have risen sharply. In addition, the taxi drivers have been hit hard by gas prices because they must pay for their own gas.
However, it is not fair that the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency's only solution is to make San Franciscans and tourists pay dramatically more when there are many other solutions to this proposed taxi rate increase.
For example, the taxi companies could change their fleet to hybrid cars, saving the taxi drivers money on gas while saving the environment. In addition, we can help the taxi drivers get more business by urging the MTA to put more efforts into installing a city-wide dispatch system for more efficient service, making it more convenient for drivers, dispatchers, and customers.
Using new technology and Gov 2.0 practices, we can all work together to make the taxi system more efficient and profitable to help the drivers, passengers, MTA, and San Francisco.
Read more and take our poll:
http://www.resetsanfrancisco.org/news/may-16-11/do-you-think-70-taxi-fare-increase-fair
Do You Think a 70% Taxi Fare Increase is Fair?
We urge the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency to find a taxi driver wage increase solution other than increasing fares.
There are other options than a $5 surcharge on picking up passengers at home during rush hours and increasing the meter charge by $1/mile.
Please consider encouraging the taxi companies to change their fleet to hybrid cars to lower the gas burden on drivers.
In addition, please accelerate your efforts toward a city-wide dispatch system using mobile technology to dispatch drivers more efficiently, making it more convenient and quick for drivers, passengers, and the SFMTA.
Finally, please work to take unregulated cabs off the street to ensure that San Franciscans are being served by regulated cabs in safer, more efficient ways.
Using technology and working together, we can reset the taxi system.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Don't approve unfair taxi fare increases in San Francisco! petition to San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency was written by Reset San Francisco and is in the category Local Government at GoPetition.