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Old 01-03-2013, 04:52 PM
 
Location: South Korea
5,242 posts, read 13,054,023 times
Reputation: 2957

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Quote:
Originally Posted by rkwalton View Post
I do think cabs in San Francisco are a problem, especially if you're not in one of the more touristy areas. When I lived in Hayes Valley years ago, I'd just do my best to hail one but that sometimes meant walking blocks away.
Look for taxis on Gough. It's one of the major streets in Hayes Valley that is a direct route from the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marina area. Most drivers use routes like it instead of Van Ness because of its congestion. Don't look at the nearby one-way Gough-esque streets that go north, because those will only have already hired taxis taking people north towards the GGB or Marina. You have to be kind of clever and strategic about looking for cabs in SF, and know what streets cabbies tend to use. Often it's not that you catch them when they're hovering around looking for fares, it's that you catch them when they're returning to their usual hovering spot from dropping off a previous fare. So you gotta be clever and think about where they'd be returning from--bridges and highway off-ramps into SF are major return routes for them from drop-offs.

To some degree I wouldn't be surprised if cabbies are starting to feel burned by flaky Bay Area people who insist on using credit/debit cards--if the card doesn't work then it's a hassle for the driver to resolve, and time is money for them. They probably stereotype women as being more likely to not carry cash, especially if they aren't carrying a purse. I've never gotten into a cab without having the necessary cash, except for once in San Jose when I realized I had only a few dollars, and the cabbie acted pretty put out about it since he didn't have a swiper and he had to wait for me to use a gas station ATM.
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Old 01-03-2013, 04:57 PM
 
Location: San Francisco, CA
506 posts, read 1,152,708 times
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I suppose I could try hailing by waving big bundles of cash into the street... I see no way this could go wrong.
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Old 01-03-2013, 05:10 PM
 
Location: San Francisco
622 posts, read 1,144,150 times
Reputation: 392
Quote:
Originally Posted by mayorhaggar View Post
Look for taxis on Gough. It's one of the major streets in Hayes Valley that is a direct route from the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marina area. Most drivers use routes like it instead of Van Ness because of its congestion. Don't look at the nearby one-way Gough-esque streets that go north, because those will only have already hired taxis taking people north towards the GGB or Marina. You have to be kind of clever and strategic about looking for cabs in SF, and know what streets cabbies tend to use. Often it's not that you catch them when they're hovering around looking for fares, it's that you catch them when they're returning to their usual hovering spot from dropping off a previous fare. So you gotta be clever and think about where they'd be returning from--bridges and highway off-ramps into SF are major return routes for them from drop-offs.
I DON'T LIVE THERE ANYMORE.

However, those are good tips that will help someone else. If I'm there now, it's in the main commercial drag or at the performance centers, and it's not been a problem.

I know how to find a cab and most cabs I do catch are letting someone out or they're at their hover spot. That's usually how I'll pick up a cab when I'm downtown.

I'm not sure about the credit/debit card theory though. It's not entirely impossible, but NYC cabbies have similar set ups in their cabs. I think it's common knowledge that they prefer cash but it was the rare NYC cabbie that gave me attitude for using a card. To be honest, for the few times I bother with regular cabs since I've been back the San Francisco cabbies I've not had problems using a card.
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Old 01-03-2013, 07:44 PM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
1,318 posts, read 3,549,236 times
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I've had problems getting a cab in the city before too, but honestly if you really need the ride I think you should be willing to use a service like Uber, yeah, yeah, it costs more money, but cabs are regulated in SF, what can you expect?, there are not going to be more cabs than medallions at any one time. Cabs don't want to go out to the Sunset to pick people up because they can keep circling busy areas to get fares, should expect to pay a little extra to get a ride from there, maybe that is not the PC thing to say, but I can't expect cabbies to give up a fare to pick me up, or take me somewhere.
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Old 01-04-2013, 12:26 PM
 
56 posts, read 117,392 times
Reputation: 92
Who's the customer here? The rider or the cabbie? You read some of the comments here and you can see how we've all been conditioned by taxi drivers to bow down to their antics and hostile behavior towards customers.

I get sick of hearing the moaning about credit cards. First of all, its 2013. Even the girl selling cookies at Dolores Park takes credit cards now. Get with the program. Second, you don't like taking credit cards? Fine, give up your medallion and don't drive a cab anymore - because those are the rules. You get the privilege of enjoying an absurd law that limits your competition, then the least you can do is play by the rules and treat customers with respect. At least act like your happy to get the business.

I prefer to pay with cash myself, but its not always possible. When I pay a cab driver with a credit card, if he doesn't give me an attitude about it, I'll give him a bigger tip to compensate for the credit card processing fee he pays. But if I get an attitude, sorry - amount of the tip is going down, rapidly.
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Old 01-04-2013, 01:53 PM
 
Location: Oakland, CA
28,226 posts, read 36,784,942 times
Reputation: 28561
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hard8 View Post
I get sick of hearing the moaning about credit cards. First of all, its 2013. Even the girl selling cookies at Dolores Park takes credit cards now. Get with the program. Second, you don't like taking credit cards? Fine, give up your medallion and don't drive a cab anymore - because those are the rules. You get the privilege of enjoying an absurd law that limits your competition, then the least you can do is play by the rules and treat customers with respect. At least act like your happy to get the business.
I am sure homeless people will start taking cards soon too!

Street vendors figured out how to take cards...and all they have is a folding table!
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Old 01-04-2013, 02:40 PM
 
Location: San Francisco
622 posts, read 1,144,150 times
Reputation: 392
Quote:
Originally Posted by jade408 View Post
Street vendors figured out how to take cards...and all they have is a folding table!
I love it when I see street or festival vendors using Square or a similar service to take cards. Square is a San Francisco company and I signed up as soon as I heard about it. I don't need it but have it as a backup, but I invoice all of my clients. Street vendors using it just shows that tech is being rapidly adopted and that's great.

I tend not to walk around with cash on me, and I don't think I'm alone in that respect. It's just safer to use your card and you can track your spending easier.
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Old 01-04-2013, 02:44 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,977 posts, read 32,531,418 times
Reputation: 13625
Quote:
Originally Posted by rkwalton View Post
I love it when I see street or festival vendors using Square or a similar service to take cards. Square is a San Francisco company and I signed up as soon as I heard about it. I don't need it but have it as a backup, but I invoice all of my clients. Street vendors using it just shows that tech is being rapidly adopted and that's great.

I tend not to walk around with cash on me, and I don't think I'm alone in that respect. It's just safer to use your card and you can track your spending easier.
And to dispute charges and get a refund, that is huge imo. This dirtbag hotel in Salt Lake City that only took cash or debit refused us a refund after we refused to stay in one of their dirty rooms but we got the money back because we used debit. It's pretty easy to get charges refunded.

I don't like carrying around cash either. I understand the whole fee thing but I'll pay an extra $.25/.50 to use a card or just charge me the 2.7% or whatever if you need to.
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Old 01-07-2013, 03:01 AM
 
6,438 posts, read 6,893,197 times
Reputation: 8742
Quote:
Originally Posted by cardinal2007 View Post
I've had problems getting a cab in the city before too, but honestly if you really need the ride I think you should be willing to use a service like Uber, yeah, yeah, it costs more money, but cabs are regulated in SF, what can you expect?, there are not going to be more cabs than medallions at any one time. Cabs don't want to go out to the Sunset to pick people up because they can keep circling busy areas to get fares, should expect to pay a little extra to get a ride from there, maybe that is not the PC thing to say, but I can't expect cabbies to give up a fare to pick me up, or take me somewhere.
If a cab driver doesn't want to take me to the Sunset, he can find another profession. Driving me to any SF address is his job. It's not like I'm asking him to drive me to the ghetto or anything (and that would be part of his job too).

There are aspects of my job that I don't like or that are not insanely profitable. But I do them because it is better than the alternative, and because I promised someone that I would.
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