San Diego News 6: Study – San Diego Taxi Drivers Overworked, Underpaid SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Taxi drivers in San Diego work a median of 70 hours a week to cover the costs of leasing their vehicles and other expenses, and earn a median salary of $4.45 an hour including tips, according to a study released Thursday. The study, conducted at 25 taxi stands around the city by the Center on Policy Initiatives and San Diego State University, also found drivers were being fired or threatened for raising safety concerns and their vehicles were inadequately maintained. “The taxi system is
Read More

UT San Diego:  Report –  Improve Conditions for Taxi Drivers By Chris Nichols 12:47p.m. May 23, 2013 Should San Diego shake up how taxis are managed in the city? It could keep using an outside contractor to regulate the industry, with or without any revised rules, or go with direct city supervision. The discussion about those and other choices will likely grow as Mayor Bob Filner considers a potential overhaul of the system. On Thursday, researchers at San Diego State University and the Center on Policy Initiatives joined the conversation by issuing a report titled “Driven to Despair.” Their study, based on
Read More

The Starting Line – Driven to Despair: Are San Diego’s Taxis Like a Bangladesh Clothing Factory on Wheels? by DOUG PORTER on MAY 24, 2013 A survey released yesterday leaves little room for doubt that conditions in the local taxi industry pose a very real threat to the safety of passengers, drivers and the general public in San Diego. Conducted over a two month period by San Diego State University and the Center for Policy Initiatives (CPI), the study interviewed 331 local cab drivers, asking about earnings, expenses, hours, health care, vehicle safety and industry practices. What emerges from the data is a
Read More

Univision: Fallas en sistema de Taxistas en San Diego KBNT News | WATCH VIDEO HERE 05/23/2013 5:59 PM (Entravision) SAN DIEGO – Un estudio revela grandes fallas en la operación de los taxis en San Diego. Los taxistas trabajan largas jornadas sin descanso y muchas de las unidades no tienen el adecuado mantenimiento, lo que pone en riesgo su vida y la de los pasajeros. Carlos Gonzales nos amplia. Original Source: Univision | Fallas en sistema de Taxistas en San Diego 
Read More

City Considers Taxi Industry Overhaul Amid Reports Of Low Wages And Unsafe Cabs by Megan Burks The city of San Diego will not renew its five-year contract with the Metropolitan Transit System for regulating the taxi industry when it expires in June, but will extend it by one year to study other options. The decision comes as drivers ramp up complaints about poor working conditions, driver and passenger safety, and lax oversight that has resulted in a virtual black market for operator permits. In a report out today, the Center on Policy Initiatives and researchers from San Diego State University
Read More