Key Takeaway: Accessible Taxi stands are an important part of providing accessible taxi service in San Francisco. The SFMTA is working to make more taxi stands accessible to people with disabilities.
Accessible Taxi Stand Design
Taxi stands are a special type of loading zone where taxi drivers are allowed to wait to pick up passengers. Taxi stands give passengers a reliable place to find a taxi, and give drivers a reliable place to find passengers. They also give taxi drivers a place to temporarily park their taxi while they take a break, use the restroom or grab a bite to eat.
Some taxi stands in San Francisco are specifically designed to be accessible to passengers with disabilities and older adults. These are located near curb ramps and have more space for loading passengers into ramp taxis and conventional taxis.
The SFMTA would like to increase the number of accessible taxi stands in the city. To do so, staff are developing new standards for accessible taxi stands.
A list of ideal design features will help planners more efficiently design, install and retrofit accessible taxi stands. Key considerations include:
- Visibility, signage and markings.
- Proximity to important destinations.
- Distance and location to curb cuts (which should be located at the rear of a parked taxi, as ramp taxis are rear loading).
- Paths of ingress and egress from a ramp taxi.
- Total length of the taxi stand loading zone, not including the curb cut behind them.
- Applicable design regulations in the U.S. Access board's Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG).
With new standards for accessible taxi stands, staff at the SFMTA can work towards making as many taxi stands as accessible as possible. This will require:
- Identifying funding sources to cover the cost of installing curb ramps near taxi stands.
- Analyzing current paratransit taxi data to find taxi stands most used by paratransit riders.
- Prioritizing taxi stands that serve locations that are critical to older adults and people with disabilities, such as healthcare facilities.
- Working with taxi and ramp-van companies to ensure future ramp taxis are compatible with existing designs.
Mapping Accessible Taxi Stands
The SFMTA currently maintains a map of all the taxi stands in the city. The map distinguishes among active, temporary and proposed taxi stands, as well as stands pending removal, but does not distinguish between accessible and non-accessible taxi stands.
Identifying accessible taxi stands on this map would help customers find the right taxi stand to meet their needs. It would also help SFMTA staff identify which stands should be made accessible.