Letter to the Editor - Taxi Regulations

By Starchild

We need to end San Francisco's taxi cartel. Doing this will reduce prices, save taxpayer dollars, and expand employment opportunities for the poor and disadvantaged.

Jim Nakamura says cab drivers and companies should get a raise because the cost of living has gone up (Letters, June 4). Unfortunately, under the current system a raise for these groups automatically translates into a price increase for members of the public. Nakamura could have just as reasonably asked, "Shouldn't passengers get a price break to help cover *their* increased living costs?"

This issue will continue to bounce around as a political football so long as a taxi cartel is maintained. Thanks to rigid government controls, existing permit-holders have a monopoly and newcomers to the business are unable to obtain permits to drive or operate taxis.

Instead of applying band-aid solutions that benefit one party at the expense of another, if we simply ended the cartel system and allowed cab fares and gate fees to fluctuate naturally according to demand (the way most other goods and services in society are priced), we could create a win-win situation:

(1) Unemployed or under-employed people who own vehicles could earn money by driving passengers full or part time, once the artificial barriers to entry in the taxi business were removed.

(2) Customers would have a choice of paying more money to ride in a more comfortable "brand name" cab with a more reliable driver, or paying less money for a cheaper cab where the service and level of comfort might not be as good but which would make this form of public transit more affordable to lower-income people as is the case in many other countries.

(3) Cab companies and independent drivers, freed from the bureaucratic taxi commission and licensing structure, would gain the freedom to do business on their own terms, such as asking for higher fares when appropriate to the costs of doing business.

(4) Taxpayers would reap millions of dollars in savings by phasing out the jobs of regulators. Meanwhile the new entry-level jobs would reduce the need for unemployment payments, job training, and welfare dependency, and the elimination of hassles, red tape, and bureaucracy in the business would provide a boost to the economy as more productive energy was transferred into doing actual work.

Sincerely,

Starchild
Outreach Director,
Libertarian Party of San Francisco
Candidate for Supervisor, District 8
(415) 626-3036