Just updated my avatar profile with my current outfit and attitude cuz apparently its hot or something…. pic.twitter.com/vSRD4y4Zb2

— Mister Johnson (@mrjhnsn) April 13, 2014

Local cabbie Trevor Johnson left his seat on the S.F. Cab Drivers Association board of directors yesterday after videos of shady activity turned up on his YouTube channel.

"SHITS," by the way, is Johnson's acronym for "Smartphone Hail-able Illegal Taxi Services" — otherwise known by the California Public Utilities Commission as "Transportation Networking Companies."

Although Johnson, who maintains a brusque twitter presence, didn't mention the exact reason for his departure from the voluntary position. The Chronicle, however, notes that he stepped down after videos, with names like "smack dat ass" and "stupid bitches," resurfaced.

Johnson recorded the videos in his cab and said they were meant to remain private. One showed him slapping the rear end of a friend (at her request, he said); another featured a group of seemingly inebriated women trying to cram seven people into a four-person taxi.

The president of the SFCDA apologized for the distraction, mentioning that the rest of the board found the videos "inappropriate and offensive."

Johnson, for his part, issued a slick mea culpa: "I live a pretty unapologetic life," he told the Chronicle. "But sometimes in your professional life you have to apologize, and this is one of those times.” Then, like a taxi blowing by you with its light on, Johnson dismissed the haters with one inspirational pic:

Previously: Letter To The Editor: Lyft Responds To Ride-Sharing Criticism

[Chron]
[Twitter]

(Entry image credit: Nick Fisher)

Earlier today, in front of the Safeway at Church and Market Streets, a cab driver nearly drove down the stairs into the busy intersection. Although there were reportedly no casualties other than the cabbie's bruised ego, the scene was documented by Lyft driver Freddie D.

In related news, an off-duty Lyft driver was caught on camera earlier this week getting into an altercation with a pedestrian after he parked illegally in a crosswalk and in front of a fire hydrant.

The president of the local Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association responded by comparing that incident to the death of Sophia Liu on New Year's Eve: "The actions of the Lyft driver who allegedly assaulted a pedestrian," president Robert Werth wrote in a statement "—like the tragic death of six-year-old Sophia Liu—once again underscore the need for Transportation Network Companies (apps providing taxi service that does not meet taxi-safety standards) to be held accountable in order to protect the San Francisco public." Werth goes on:

"In both of these alleged events, the [Transportation Network Company] drivers were supposedly between fares. This ‘between-fares’ defense ignores the fact that ‘between fares’ is part of the business. This defense should be against public policy as it leaves drivers and innocent bystanders vulnerable to TNC evasion of responsibility. Drivers for legitimate taxi companies are held accountable for their actions during their entire shifts. The San Francisco public deserves the same level of protection from TNC drivers roaming the streets.”

Brace yourselves, folks. San Francisco's next gang war is armed with hybrid taxi cabs and smartphone apps.

[Broke-Ass Stuart]
[NBC Bay Area]

Yet another reason to thank the universe for (decent) ride sharing. On Sunday morning, a cabbie turned into the Hulk after a passenger failed to give the customary tip. Strangulation ensued.

"The taxi driver had taken a 37-year-old man to the area of Waller Street and Central Avenue around 1 a.m. Sunday and the victim asked for his change back, leaving no tip for the cabbie," according to SF Appeal. "An argument ensued and the passenger tried to flee but the driver caught up to him and began choking him."

The victim described his attacker/chauffer as a white, balding man, 30-40 y/o with a muscular build and sporting a polo shirt and jeans. The cab company couldn't be identified, though the taxi in question was "white with red lettering." (Make your best guess in the comments.)

Sunday's taxi turmoil asks the obvious: is it ever okay to not tip your taxi driver? The answer is: yes. Now, we tip $3. Too much at times, we know, but we feel compelled to overtip, even if that does mean a traffic-heavy ride from South Park to Upper Haight comes to $20. It always makes the cabbie happy and, possibly, brings one good karma. HOWEVER, we tip less for obvious meth use and/or constant chatter about The Way Things Are These Days. No tip goes to cabbies who use ethnic or homophobic slurs.

Plus, with ride share you decide on the tip amount (if any) after the ride ends and your driver pulls away. No fuss and/or muss.

Something to note: some of those ride-share drivers can be equally sketchy.

Two cab drivers were part of a violent argument Friday night when one driver allegedly struck the other driver with a tire iron. The attack occurred in North Beach at around 9:30pm when one cab — driven by a man from Berkeley — took too long at a red light near Columbus and Pacific. The taxi behind him honked, and the Berkeley man proceeded to get out of his car and yell profanities at the driver behind him. Both of the men left their cabs and words quickly came to blows. But the brawl soon escalated when the Berkeley man retreated to his trunk and came back swinging at the other driver with a tire iron.

According to one of the passengers of the victim, once the the two men had, “finally stopped fighting[,] the driver came back to the car and asked us if we should drive on. He had a lot of blood on his hands from the head wound. We suggested that hospital might be a better idea.”

The victim drove to a nearby police station, and was then taken to San Francisco General Hospital where he is being treated for non life threatening injuries. The victim remembered the suspect’s cab info and was found nearby on the 600 block of Broadway. The tire iron was recovered from the suspect’s cab and is being held as evidence in the attack.

[MyLifeinHayes]
[KTVU]

SFPD officers cracked another case with the help of surveillance footage last weekend, but instead of art thieves this time it was some unruly teens accused of pistol-whipping a 66-year-old cabbie and making off with $120 of cash. After reviewing the in-taxi footage Cops from Park Station found two of the three suspects nearby in the Upper Haight.

According to the Examiner, a 19-year-old suspect from Treasure Island was recognized by officers near Masonic and Haight last Friday. When the suspect attempted to make a break for it, he managed to punch a cop in the face before being arrested. One of his accomplices, a mere boy of 14 who hails from Oakland, was also arrested in the Haight yesterday. A third suspect, who cops couldn't see as well on the video footage apparently, is still on the loose.

[BCN/Appeal]
[SFEx]

Yesterday afternoon at City Hall, hundreds of cab drivers staged a protest and threatened to strike if the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency didn't give them face time to discuss critical issues. KTVU reports: "Representing many of the city's cab companies, including Luxor, Yellow Cab Cooperative and Green, the drivers were protesting a 5 percent credit card processing fee, implementation of electronic waybills and lack of SFMTA benefits, especially since the Taxi Commission merged with the SFMTA in March 2009."

What's more, the fees would go to private companies, not to the city. According to the Chronicle, "the credit card companies charge 3 percent for the transactions, and the firm that operates the readers in the cabs tacks on another 2 percent."

SFist reader Mandy Brown captured some of yesterday's noisy protest. Behold: