Taxi
San Francisco Gives Cars the Boot for a Better Market Street
Imagine life on Market Street with no cars. You could play soccer, do somersaults or have a heated debate with your imaginary friend right in the middle of the road. Well, maybe not exactly…but close. The city is about to find out just what people will do in the middle
Don’t Let #DeleteUber Just be a Hollow Trend
Ahhh… there’s nothing like waking up to a good Boycott Uber movement. This morning my Twitter and Facebook were lit up with denunciations of Uber. Hashtag Delete Uber. The joy of seeing their louche brand dragged through the mud is always exhilarating. But fleeting. Like every other wave of public outrage
This New Literary Magazine is a Gift to the People of San Francisco
I’ve got some awesome news! We received a grant from the Civic Joy Fund to put out a literary magazine celebrating SF and acting to counter the stupid “Doom Loop” narrative. It’s a gift to the people of San Francisco. And after months of working on this project it’s now available
Fare Play: Weird Tales from Driving a Taxi
Some shifts driving a taxi are weirder than others. One is, in essence, cruising around and picking up strangers for money. Part of the thrill and the joy of this job is never knowing who I’ll meet or what part of town I’ll end up in. Though it’s not always
Have We Hit Peak Uber/Lyft?
The hardest part of driving a cab in San Francisco is dealing with all the Uber/Lyft cars clogging the streets. I’m willing to venture at least ninety percent of these freshly minted drivers don’t know what the hell they’re doing. They double-park with reckless abandon, jamming up arterial thoroughfares and
So Who Makes More, Taxi or Lyft/Uber Drivers?
Ok, let’s talk about the money… There is a common misconception that being an Uber/Lyft driver is more profitable than traditional taxi driving. The media likes to publicize reports, usually supplied by Uber and Lyft, that taxis are on the brink of becoming obsolete as these new app-based ride services continue to grow in popularity and take a larger
I Drive SF: Driving for Hire and the Illusion of Safety
Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know what you’re thinking. Another stupid taxi article. Who gives a shit, right? Cab drivers are all assholes. They won’t take you to the Sunset or Richmond districts. So fuck them. They refuse to accept credit cards. Rotten scumbags. What about their smelly cabs? The horrible
I Drive SF: “Is This a Lyft or Do I Need to Pay You?”
It’s Saturday night. I’m cruising through Hayes Valley, keeping a watchful eye for street hails outside the Jazz Center. On Franklin, a hand goes up, though somewhat feebly. I pull over anyway. A young guy approaches my window. “Can you take me to Safeway?” I look in my rearview at
I Drive SF: From Rideshare to Taxi
It’s inevitable. Now that I drive a taxi, I regularly field the inquiry: “So… have you thought about driving for Uber?” When I tell my passengers that I did the Lyft and Uber thing before switching to taxi driving, they’re usually shocked. “Don’t you make more money with Lyft and