San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance Statement For June 29th Rally At SF CPUC

San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance Statement For June 29th Rally At SF CPUC

June 28, 2023 Contact: Mark Gruberg - 415-606-1106 - Mark1106 [at] att.net


SFTWA Urges the CPUC to Put the Brakes on AVs

Beleaguered San Francisco taxi drivers, chafing under unfair competition from Uber and Lyft and the crushing burden of six-figure medallion debt that many of them face, now have to deal with another existential threat: autonomous vehicles (AVs), which pose a clear and present danger to the driver’s livelihood and public safety.

In the short time the two leading AV companies, Cruise and Waymo, have conducted limited operations in SF, the city has received hundreds of reports of hazardous incidents, including mass breakdowns, lengthy street blockages, obstructing public transportation, and repeated interference with police and firefighting operations. According to city officials, AVs have hampered fire responses at least 18 times. Many more incidents have undoubtedly gone unreported.

“We have many more taxis in operation in San Francisco than there are AVs, said SFTWA Board Member Mark Gruberg. “If we were responsible for even a small portion of the chaos they are causing, there would be public outrage.”

Despite their dismal record to date, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is poised to approve Cruise and Waymo to begin citywide, 24/7 commercial AV transportation services. “AV operations are a massive experiment, with the public as guinea pigs,” Gruberg said. “The CPUC is bestowing a premature approval on an immature technology.”

In addition to the hazardous conditions they create, the operation of hundreds, and possibly thousands of AVs is bound to increase congestion on San Francisco streets. Uber and Lyft are a case in point. Study after study has shown that they are a major cause of traffic jams. AVs will only make things worse.

AVs will also cost jobs. That threat is bad news for taxi passengers as well as their drivers, since taxis are essential transportation for many members of the public. Seniors and people with disabilities often depend on a human driver to help them get in and out of the cab, and to carry luggage, groceries, etc.

The black cloud hanging over the taxi industry with the coming of AVs is especially threatening to taxi drivers who bought a medallion. While those drivers, who are largely immigrant and working class, had to pay $250,000 for their medallions, two giant corporations now stand to get essentially the same permit for free. The consequences could be dire. “Of the 700 or so medallion purchasers, some 300 have already lost their medallions to foreclosure,” Gruberg said. “Once AVs have gained a foothold, the rest may not be far behind.”

AVs are at the forefront of an ominous menace to the economy as a whole: the catastrophic job losses that artificial intelligence (AI) portends if left unchecked. “Taxi drivers are the canaries in the coal mine in the coming AI onslaught,” Gruberg said. “Our jobs may go first, but yours could be next.”

SFTWA will participate in a protest against the California Public Utilities Commission’s pending approval of Cruise and Waymo for 24/7 AV operations throughout San Francisco on Thursday, June 29 at 10 a.m. at CPUC headquarters, 505 Van Ness Avenue

BY THE NUMBERS:
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE (AV) OPERATIONS IN SAN FRANCISCO
6/28/23

Number of reported incidents of Cruise and Waymo AVs driving erratically,
blocking traffic, interfering with transit and interfering with emergency
response operations in San Francisco, Jan.- April 2023: …………………………… 233*

Number of reported incidents of Cruise and waymo AVs interfering with
firefighting operations in San Francisco, 4/5/22 through 5/9/23 ……………… 18*

Average of reported AV incidents per month in SF, June-Dec. 2022 …………… 14*

Average of reported AV incidents per month in SF, Jan.-April 2023 …………… 38*

Percentage of injuries per miles traveled in SF in excess of national
injury rate, Cruise, June-Nov. 2022 …………..……………………………………….. 630*

Percentage of injuries per miles traveled in SF in excess of national
injury rate, Waymo, June-Nov. 2022 .…………………………………………….……. 130*
Estimate of increase in annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for a fleet of
245 Cruise vehicles in SF, in millions of miles …………………………………. 8.4-9.8*

Number of Cruise vehicles recalled after one rear-ended a Muni bus,
3/23/23 …………………………………………………………………………………….. 300**

Number of Cruise vehicles recalled after one was involved in an injury-
causing collision on Geary Boulevard, 6/3/22 …………..…………………………. 80**

Number of collisions reported to the DMV, Cruise, 2022 ……………….……….. 33***

Number of collisions reported to the DMV, Waymo, 2022 ……………………….. 71***

Number of collisions reported to the DMV, Cruise, Jan. 1-June 17, 2023 …….. 24***

Number of collisions reported to the DMV, Waymo, Jan. 1-June 17, 2023 ……. 23***

Sources:
* City and County of San Francisco
** Media reports
*** California DMV
References to sources will be furnished upon request.