Oakland taxi cab drivers opposed City Council's motion to require cab add-ons and 10-day permit revocations on Tuesday. The drivers said these regulations will burden them with unnecessary expenses."Please, just admit it, it's shit," claimed cab driver Fran Arwuah.
Council members suggested cab companies provide supplementary items such as cameras, GPS navigation, and safety shields to make taxi cars more accountable to the public. The Council would require that the add-ons be paid by the companies themselves which, according to the drivers, would decrease their typical 16-hour day salaries.
"The economy is so bad, business has dropped 60 percent," said driver Anwar East.
Veteran's Cabs owner Mark Broad said his drivers currently have to pay around $775 a month to lease their vehicles, which they don't have as is.
"It's embarassing," said driver Alli.
Broad said Oakland is a different market compared to more metropolitan areas like San Francisco, and their business is suffering.
"How can we survive and how can we be living?" asked East. "We cannot afford it. I have five kids at home. Please!"
If cabs are not used for 10 nonconsecutive days, the city will revoke drivers' permits. The drivers suggested this be modified to 10 consecutive days.
Once the ordinances were addressed, Oakland City Council Representative Pat Kernighan said the majority of the cab regulations were passed.
The Council decided to put off GPS, go ahead with the cameras, and increased the number of days before license revocation to 15.
Photo courtesy of: <activerain.com/blogs/
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