»In which a hackie makes an appearance

Last night I spent about half an hour first waiting for a cab at the corner, and then slowly walking towards my destination, three miles away, keeping an eye peeled for a cab with its "For Hire" light illuminated. I walked for twenty minutes and saw not a one; I walked through densely-populated areas: the Lower Haight, the Castro, the Mission, until I pounced on a cabby who pulled over to make a telephone call.

From a four-year-old SPUR report:

The most pressing complaint about the San Francisco taxi system over the long run is its extremely poor reliability. According to the Police Department Taxi Detail’s annual survey for 2000, if a passenger telephoned for a cab, there was only a 40% chance that one would arrive. Of 588 test calls made, 170 were not even answered, and 20 callers were told there was no cab available. Of the remaining calls, just 237 cabs arrived, and there were 161 ‘no shows.’

The City of San Francisco Taxicab Commissionhas taken decisive action, but there are still no goddam cabs. And what we have are too damn expensive.