Comments on: How much is a San Francisco taxi medallion worth?

By: Tony Jackson

Tony Jackson — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:10:14 +0000

makes sense to me…

By: Observer

Observer — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 01:03:39 +0000

A better solution would be for the City to auction off 5-year leases for medallions in a rolling manner (so that 300 medallions go on sale every year, assuming there are 1500 total medallions). Use a “dutch auction” so that people bid the true value. Limit medallion sales to 1 per driver; and have some eligibility criteria so that only the qualified drivers apply. This can become a sizable source of income for the City.

Right now, some well-connected (read: corrupt) people have cornered a good chunk of the medallions, and the hardworking drivers are caught in the system like slaves.

By: SuperNaturalMom

SuperNaturalMom — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:07:32 +0000

I came upon this site trying to help my MIL figure out what to do with her deceased father’s medallion. At this point it is the only source of income for her and her mother, however after reading everything here it seems the right choice for all is to sell it. Does anyone know if they can hang on to it? Knowing they will not be driving? Or must they sell it? And if they must sell it what is a fair price?

Any advice would help. We are lost and know not where to turn…

Thanks,
SuperNaturalmom

By: W. Blake Derby

W. Blake Derby — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:13:09 +0000

Allow me to elucidate. When the South Terminal was remodeled (1981?) and asbestos was floating in the air like snow we parked outside right next to the terminal and fed into the lane directly in front of the terminals where we proceeded to engage arriving passengers to hire our taxis. There were no starters dictating our movement, no fee for picking-up passengers and very little need for oversight. Oversight includes methods for monitoring, scrutinizing, “regulating” and imposing fixed conformity for the purpose of exploitating the industry. This is all instigated by people with reptilian predator minds, those money-grubbing, power-tripping control freaks in City Hall who see only to their own interests “doing the business of the City.” So one day someone put up a parking ticket dispenser in the lot at SFO. There was no notice of public hearing regarding that decision. Ever since we’ve had to pay a series of people in cahoots to pick up at the airport. It was Leonadakis at first, then AMPCO and DAJA, which includes the Bessiers, former Law-Firm Partners and friends of Willie Brown. After the cab-staging was moved to the basement of the garage it took five years just to get fans to blow away the toxic exhaust. People pissed on the wall because they wouldn’t even spring for porta-potties. It took 10 years just to get fairly clean bathrooms. Ah sweet memories…To this day, I have met no one who can share the details about the profit-sharing arrangement between the airport revenues, the City and these private enterprises. I do know that not one single whit goes back to benefit anyone in the taxi industry. Kudos to anyone who can obtain a copy to the contracts awarded by the City to “handle the cab-flow”. I believe the City actually pays DAJA and AMPCO perhaps millions per year to collect money from us. In my next post I may tell you about how my son’s best friend was murdered on Maui while I was in SF arguing at the TC hearings that an intention to drive is not a requirement to drive and that even if it were, 156×4=624 not 800 hours. We lost that one so that’s fewer prime shifts that go to harder working drivers. I’m older now, not so much of a lean, mean, hot dog. It may take me 100 shifts to do the 800 hours. Meanwhile, my three children on Maui miss their father due to the reality of livelihood restrictions and the increasing fact that only well-off people can live in Hawaii comfortably. Then our dear Mayor buys an interest in the Hana Hotel, a two hour drive from my ex-wife and children. He signs the Healthy Families Initiative, not that it helps mine. This year I got three months with my kids.
You try having two residences, two jobs, two cars and a family…I know I’m not the only one. Regardless of the circumstances I still consider myself greatly blessed for not having to be on the dole or sleeping in the streets. I do live in my van while I work in the City until I pay off my debts and so that I can afford to see my kids once in a while. My story is not so unique. Unfortunately the “one size fits all” policy regarding rules and regulations completely disregards individual variation of circumstances and exigencies. At this point I will kindly remember Lindsey Welcome…If you don’t know who she was then you don’t know what the City does to career drivers…
Aloha,
Blake

By: gus

gus — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:23:50 +0000

A happy solution is not likely. I suggest we compromise and take each case individually. If a medallion holder is ready to retire, let him sell and the city gets it’s cut. If a guy on the list wants to wait, let him and issue the next # that reverts back to the city. For sure weed out the scammers. It’s easy enough to know if someone is really driving a cab or not. Give pre K medallion owners the right to sell before they die. Pretty unfair to penalize the people who backed the taxi industry back in day when yellow cab went broke. Anyone willing to deal with the peculiar aspects of taxi driving, should be entitled to some compensation after 2, 3,and sometimes more than 4 decades in this job.

By: Blake

Blake — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:13:29 +0000

I am from a fifth generation N. Californian family. I attended San Rafael Military Academy High School in the late sixties where we were issued M1 rifles and played “Capture the Cong Village” at Ft. Chronkite. We were fighting communism at the time (Domino Theory). I marched in every official parade in SF twirling a rifle in my dress blues and performing the Queen Anne salute at the reviewing stand. Fortunately, while on a weekend pass in the City on my sixteenth birthday in 1969, I met the cast of “Hair” who invited me to lunch and sang “Happy Birthday”. That changed my life. I dove into music and even got to play with the Grateful Dead a few times. In 1979 I started driving a cab because it was the only job you could do with long hair and a beard besides dealing the dubious. It was twelve hour shifts at City Cab driving in fumes with shoddy tires and a radio that didn’t always work. The last thing I remember smelling is the odor of asbestos brakes coming off a streetcar. I refer to my past as a way of iterating part of my credentials. Knowledge in this industry is awareness of people and place. I know this place and it’s people. First sharing, more to come…

By: kfarr

kfarr — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:41:06 +0000

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By: joe

joe — Fri, 08 May 2009 06:09:34 +0000

you cant balance a cities budget by stealing lives away from individuals who have worked their asses off for 20 plus years. the term worker owned would apply here if san francisco were still san francisco and not a sanctuary for the rich.

By: Hen

Hen — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:15:53 +0000

Dear Mayor Newsom, as i have understanding about the taxi permit, right now every medallion owner has lease to many people around SF for about $85.00/shift and 24hrs is $170.00 for a day. we take 30×170=5100, take 5100x12months=61200.
minus about $2000.00 for car, insurance and company fee. so does any owner pay anything for the city? NO NO No.
If i am a Mayor i will take all 1500 medallion and sell to every driver whoever want to buy just about 150000 to 200,000 each. i believe our city will solve all the financial problem and our city will have a lot of money for every program such as school, police, health care, play ground, and so fort.
this is an honestly comments.

Hen Wu

By: happy

happy — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:21:58 +0000

befor the sell medallions they should stop TCP…..people get a tcp number and working like madallin holder…..