SFMTA Board makes Taxi Upfront Fare program permanent after two-year pilot
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board of Directors has voted to make the Taxi Upfront Fare program permanent after a successful pilot period. SFMTA notes the two-year pilot has helped strengthen taxi ridership in San Francisco, allowing the taxi industry to provide a rider with fare information in advance to better plan for their trips.
The program also provides a new revenue stream for taxi drivers. According to SFMTA, drivers participating in the pilot earned 25 percent more on average in fares than drivers who did not, and the SFMTA recorded 56,000 trips booked per quarter in the pilot program.
The Upfront Fare program gives passengers more flexibility and enables price shopping by allowing customers to book and pay taxi fares in advance of the trip. SFMTA notes the program also allows trips that originate from third parties, such as Uber, to be provided on the city’s clean-air taxi fleet (90 percent of the taxi fleet is zero emissions).
The agency says the success of the program demonstrates a continued effort by the city of San Francisco to create innovative solutions to address a range of issues through public-private partnerships and to support the SF taxi industry, which is a vital component of SFMTA’s transportation network.
“We’re thrilled to give San Franciscans and visitors a new and more convenient way to access the city’s taxi services and to have the peace of mind from knowing their fares before taking a trip,” said SFMTA Director of Transportation Julie Kirschbaum. “We know people have many transportation options, and the SFMTA is committed to innovation, even as we strive for safe and accessible streets for everyone who uses them. We appreciate this partnership between the taxi industry and Uber for their partnership and look forward to new opportunities as the program continues.”
Additional key successes of the pilot include:
- Over 50 percent of all active drivers have participated in the pilot by providing at least one pilot trip (approximately 700 participating drivers out of 1,300 active drivers).
- New taxi drivers increased significantly during the pilot (over 300 new drivers in total compared to annual average of 30 new drivers before the pilot).
- No negative impacts on paratransit taxi service.
"As we continue to strengthen our relationship with the taxi industry, Uber appreciates the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s decision to make the Upfront Fare Program permanent. By integrating taxis onto our platform, we’re providing taxi drivers with more flexibility and increased earnings opportunities while giving riders access to new transportation options,” said Uber Head of U.S. Taxi Partnerships MJ Keller. We believe this program continues to be a win for drivers, riders and the city of San Francisco, and we’re excited to support its continued growth.”
The program will continue to allow two types of trips:
- Taxi e-hail trips: A taxi customer requests a ride through a Taxi E-Hail app and takes their trip in a taxi.
- Third-party trips: A customer of a third-party app (e.g. Uber) requests a trip in the third-party app, the ride is transferred to a taxi e-hail app and the customer takes their trip in a taxi.
“We’ve seen incredible results over the course of the pilot, and we’re excited that the SFMTA Board has approved it becoming permanent,” said SFMTA Director of Taxis, Access and Mobility Services Kate Toran. “We’re seeing drivers earning more money, more people are becoming permitted taxi drivers and more trips are getting referred into the taxi industry. Taxis are operating more efficiently, and the service is improving throughout the city, with the density of taxi trips expanding beyond the downtown core and SFO.”
Yellow Cab Medallion Owner and SFMTA Paratransit Coordinating Council Member Zee Sinada added, "I've been driving for a long time, and at first, I was skeptical, but this program has been good for the taxi drivers who have been around for a long time and the newer ones. I begged the SFMTA to keep this program going because there wasn't enough business for the taxi drivers, but now, riders have more choices, and taxi drivers do, too. Financially, this is a difference of $600-$700 in extra earnings a week we’re talking about. This makes such a big difference.”
