Taxi drivers protest new regulation that could bar hundreds of drivers from picking up at SFO

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ByDavid Louie KGO logo
Friday, January 25, 2019
Taxi drivers protest new regulation outside SF City Hall
Taxi drivers protest new regulation outside SF City HallTaxi drivers in San Francisco say a new regulation will make their situation go from bad to worse.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- We know that Uber and Lyft have completely upended the regular taxi business. But now, taxi drivers in San Francisco say a new regulation will make their situation go from bad to worse.

RELATED: Battle at SFO between cab drivers over $250,000 medallions

Dozens of taxis circled City Hall to protest the new regulation. It essentially bars hundreds of them from picking up passengers at San Francisco International.

MTA, the agency that regulates them, is giving preference to taxi drivers who have bought medallions from the city for $250,000 in recent years. That pits drivers in debt for those costly medallions against those who acquired them for a fraction of that decades ago.

RELATED: Cab drivers protest SFMTA's proposals outside city hall

The drivers brought a letter addressed to Mayor London Breed, asking for her to intervene. However, she's out of town at the Conference of Mayors meeting.

Several supervisors on hand told ABC7 News they plan to introduce a resolution next week to postpone implementation of the new regulation.

RELATED: Rideshare drivers feeling unfairly blamed for Bay Area traffic congestion, despite study

However, MTA spokesman Paul Rose tells us the agency is sticking to its schedule to implement the airport regulation.

Check out more stories related to taxi's in San Francisco.

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