In a move that will probably please most cab drivers yet frustrate many cyclists, San Francisco’s bike lanes aren’t not just for bikes any more — they’re also for taxis picking up and dropping off patrons.
As reported by Taxi Town, the SFMTA issued a memo on October 18 (you can read it here) saying, in part, that “SFMTA Enforcement has issued guidance to Parking Control Officers (PCOs) instructing them not to cite taxi drivers actively loading or unloading in a bike lane.”
In the memo, taxi drivers are warned “It is important that you only use the bike lanes for pick-ups and drop-offs upon customer request and only if there are no other safe locations nearby.”
Can drivers are told that they may use separated bike lanes (those are the ones with the posts separating cyclists from traffic) only when the passenger is disabled or elderly.
Non-separated bike lanes can be, the SFMTA says, used to pick up or drop off all passengers.
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