SFO taxi protest causes gridlock, headaches

Taxi drivers clog traffic outside Terminal 1 during a protest at San Francisco International Airport on Nov. 17, 2014. Taxi drivers clog traffic outside Terminal 1 during a protest at San Francisco International Airport on Nov. 17, 2014. Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close SFO taxi protest causes gridlock, headaches 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

A protest by San Francisco cab drivers against ride services such as Uber and Lyft caused gridlock and a lot of headaches at San Francisco International Airport on Monday night, officials said.

The cabbies wouldn’t pick up riders and blocked lanes starting about 9 p.m., SFO duty manager John Gintry said, and travelers reported long backups coming into and going out of the airport.

Fliers, instructing drivers to circle the terminals, were distributed among many of the cabbies by the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance. Many drivers posted signs on their taxis reading, “This vehicle has full-time insurance, 'TNCs’ (transportation network companies) do not!”

The protest, which lasted until 11 p.m., is the latest episode in a dispute between city taxi drivers and ride-sharing companies.

In June, state regulators told the on-demand ride companies to stop operating at airports, which require taxi and limo drivers to have special permits. But last month, SFO reached a deal with Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar, allowing the companies to pick up and drop off passengers at the airport.

The rise of the app-dispatched ride-sharing companies in San Francisco has dealt a huge blow to the city’s taxi industry. The number of taxi rides plummeted 65 percent in just 15 months, according to a report presented to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board in September. The ride-share companies argue they are replacing an outdated industry that isn’t meeting the transportation needs of the city.

Skot Ballard, who has been driving cabs in San Francisco for six years, said his main reason for protesting was the roughly $4-per-trip airport fees that cabbies must pay but ride-service companies don’t. He also said the ride-sharing outfits weren’t safe for passengers.

“They don’t know where they’re going because they don’t know the city,” Ballard said as his DeSoto cab idled in the taxi lane after the protest died down. “They’re always looking at their phones, which just isn’t safe.”

Ballard, who broke his horn by continuously blowing it during the protest, said people should expect more of this type of labor action.

“Our income has been cut so bad,” he said, “you’ll definitely see more of this.”

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale