S.F. MAYOR: CABLE CAR FARE THEFTS - He thinks some conductors are pocketing cash from riders

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 1/19/6 | Rachel Gordon

[SmithL]

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he is convinced some cable car conductors are stealing fare money -- and that the Municipal Railway needs to change the way it collects cash to stop the thefts.

Newsom said he believes conductors are skimming fares from cash-paying riders because on three occasions he rode the cable cars and handed over his $5 cash fare but never received the required receipt.

The mayor said that another time he observed a conductor collecting five or six fares on a packed cable car "and didn't give one receipt for any of them." And, he added, "that's just one moment" in time.

"I am convinced, based on my own personal experience, (the money) is not going to Muni, but it's going in the pockets of some of our well-meaning operators," Newsom said.

The mayor made the comments at a budget briefing in his office as part of a larger discussion on the Municipal Railway's continuing budget problems.

He said he doesn't mean to point fingers at all conductors and that the vast majority of times he's ridden a cable car he's been given a receipt.

Interviewed about the mayor's remarks as they waited to start their runs at the Powell and Market turntable Wednesday evening, cable car operators generally declined to speak on the record. Their reactions ranged from eye-rolling to indignation.

"Why would you steal?" asked Mark LaCroix, who has worked as a gripman and conductor on the cable cars for the past seven years. "We make a decent living. Why would anyone jeopardize their job?"

[VeniVidiVici]

but it's going in the pockets of some of our well-meaning operators," Newsom said.

Only in SF would a thief be "well-meaning".

[Itzlzha]

The problem is obviously not enough gay marriage.

"Do I have to say it?"

[George from New England]

Hey what difference does it make! They end up with probably more than the $5 you woud pay.

[heleny]

Newsom said he believes conductors are skimming fares from cash-paying riders because on three occasions he rode the cable cars and handed over his $5 cash fare but never received the required receipt.

Well, duh. They way the cash is collected (like giving high-fives with a stack of cash in hand) with no accounting for the number of passengers is obviously a great way to steal fares. Even pocketing just one fare ($5) per ride will add up over time for the conductor.

When I visited SF a few years ago, we didn't get a receipt for the cash fare, and no other tourists who paid cash did, either.