Photo: BayStarShuttle.us
A strange (and stinky) situation at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is getting wide media attention, after an open letter from one SFO official to cabbies in the city has leaked to the press.
It turns out, cabbies are using the parking lot designated for cabs to go number 1 and number 2, and things are getting so bad that SFO officials have alerted the police, the San Francisco Examiner reports.
The open letter was penned by Seth Morgan, a senior transportation planner at SFO, who then posted it to one of the message boards used by cabbies. Its goal is obvious: to threaten cabbies to start acting like civilized human beings and use the bathrooms available, instead of going wherever the urge hits.
“Airport staff have noticed an increased rate of urination and defecation in the rear of SFO Taxi Lot #3 and nearby stairwells,” Morgan writes. “This creates a highly unsanitary condition and a health hazard for SFO custodians and other staff handling the materials stored in these areas.”
Because things have gotten progressively worse in the past months, SFO has also alerted the police. Morgan warns drivers that extra patrols will be in place in the coming days, so that anyone caught with their pants down (quite literally so) will be heavily fined.
The SFO parking lot was designed so cabbies could wait for passengers looking for rides back into the city. These rides are the most lucrative drivers can hope for, so the lot is often crowded.
However, as Morgan notes in his letter, bathrooms are available within walking distance – and they’re open 24/7 free of charge. Drivers are urged to use those instead.
A former owner of a local cab company tells the same publication that the open letter came as a shock to the entire cabbie community, since they weren’t aware of such a problem. Then, there’s the question of whether the drivers could actually do something like this.
“I don’t think our cab drivers are that much of a degenerate so they [pee] and [poo] on the streets,” he says. However, getting out of the car to use the bathroom could cost a driver his place in the line, he adds, and that would explain why they simply go wherever they can, not wanting to lose the hefty fare.
The open letter was penned by Seth Morgan, a senior transportation planner at SFO, who then posted it to one of the message boards used by cabbies. Its goal is obvious: to threaten cabbies to start acting like civilized human beings and use the bathrooms available, instead of going wherever the urge hits.
“Airport staff have noticed an increased rate of urination and defecation in the rear of SFO Taxi Lot #3 and nearby stairwells,” Morgan writes. “This creates a highly unsanitary condition and a health hazard for SFO custodians and other staff handling the materials stored in these areas.”
Because things have gotten progressively worse in the past months, SFO has also alerted the police. Morgan warns drivers that extra patrols will be in place in the coming days, so that anyone caught with their pants down (quite literally so) will be heavily fined.
The SFO parking lot was designed so cabbies could wait for passengers looking for rides back into the city. These rides are the most lucrative drivers can hope for, so the lot is often crowded.
However, as Morgan notes in his letter, bathrooms are available within walking distance – and they’re open 24/7 free of charge. Drivers are urged to use those instead.
A former owner of a local cab company tells the same publication that the open letter came as a shock to the entire cabbie community, since they weren’t aware of such a problem. Then, there’s the question of whether the drivers could actually do something like this.
“I don’t think our cab drivers are that much of a degenerate so they [pee] and [poo] on the streets,” he says. However, getting out of the car to use the bathroom could cost a driver his place in the line, he adds, and that would explain why they simply go wherever they can, not wanting to lose the hefty fare.
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