Dear Taxi Industry Member:
The Taxis, Access and Mobility Services (TAMS) division wanted to ensure that you were made aware of the SFMTA’s Annual Report, which you can view online here.
Taxis are mentioned in two sections in the report, which are copied below.
Improved experiences for taxi customers and drivers
The taxi industry continues to struggle, but the SFMTA is dedicated to making steady improvements for taxi customers and drivers. For example, we were able to deliver on the taxi industry’s longstanding request for taxi stands at two high-demand locations: the San Francisco Ferry Building and the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park. We continued to modernize the taxi rules, including streamlining and in many cases, lowering taxi fines for drivers. We also carried out a taxi marketing campaign.
In September 2021, the SFMTA Board authorized the creation of a one-year Taxi Upfront Fare Pilot Program . The pilot gives taxi customers the ability to book a taxi trip through a taxi e-hail app and pay a flat-rate, upfront fare. It also allows customers to get a taxi dispatched to them through approved third-party apps. If successful, the pilot will increase overall taxi trips, encourage more people to become taxi drivers and maintain or improve taxi services for all passengers.
Extended the Essential Trip Card program
Through the Essential Trip Card Program, launched at the onset of the pandemic, we enabled thousands of subsidized taxi trips for older adults and people with disabilities to supplement their use of Muni. We have provided 152,162 Essential Trip Card trips since the inception of the program in April 2020.
Essential Trip Card trips: 152,162
Essential Trip Card enrollments: 5,010