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I Got Smart at SFO,
And You Can Too!
By Carol-O

If you are a new driver, or just someone like me who has been procrastinating, you need to get a Smart card if you want to pick up fares at SFO. The Smart Card is used with the automated fee payment system to pay the $4 airport fee. After months of procrastinating, I finally went through the process and got my very own Smart Card! Now that I’ve been driving for a whopping year, I find that a lack of available and accurate information is often an issue. In an effort to be part of the solution I’ve documented my experience, as well as some useful facts, related to getting a Smart Card.
The Smart Card is issued by Curbside Management at SFO. In order to be issued a Smart Card a driver is required to complete a training class. Curbside Management is no longer offering the class on a regular schedule so you must call them directly to arrange to sit through the class video. You can reach Curbside Management at 650-821-2704. I called on a Tuesday evening and was able to go immediately to the airport and complete the process. When you call, be sure to verify with the person you speak to that they have new cards on hand. Some drivers have sat through the class just to find out that Curbside Management is out of new cards.
The Administrative Office of Curbside Management is located in the tunnel between Section B of the Domestic Parking Garage and Terminal 1. Go to the airport and enter the hourly parking garage by taking a paid parking ticket. No, you will not have to pay for your parking; it will be taken care of. Stay on the first floor of the parking garage and locate Section B, right next to the first taxi lot. Park in Section B and enter the doors leading to the elevators. Pass the elevators, stay to the left down the hallway and look for double doors that have a glass window and a Curbside Management sign.
You will need to have your driver’s license and A- card with you, and Curbside Management will take a copy of both. You will be asked to complete a short form and sign an attendance log. You will watch a training video that takes about 30 minutes. Once you have been through the class, you will be handed your new Smart Card and a Smart Card information booklet and they will mark your parking ticket.
Take your parking ticket to the exit on the third floor and pull into the office visitor parking space located on the right side BEFORE the cashiers. The parking office is on the left side of the cashiers. Take your parking ticket AND your driver’s license into the office and give them to the clerk. Now you can exit the parking area through the cashier without charge. The entire process takes about one hour.
You should then follow the airport return signs to go back toward the parking garage and use the right-most lane to enter into the taxi staging area. Your new Smart Card will open the gate. (You will get a yellow screen because you have not put any money on your card yet.) Once you have taken your place in the staging area take your new Smart Card to the add value terminal and put money on your card. It is recommended that you put money on your new card the day it is issued.
You will use your card to pay the SFO fee via the card readers located next to the booths where the cashiers used to be found, before entering the final staging lot. You also need to use your card at the exit reader (where the short checkout guy used to be).
Finally, a few important things to keep in mind:
* You will not be allowed to go to the short line after you have attended the class, as this is no longer being offered. The curbside management and/or other SFO personnel may tell you that you can go through the short line but the staging dispatcher will not allow it.
* Green vehicles: If you are driving a CNG vehicle you are entitled to two perks each shift: 1) you are allowed to go through the short line once (of course if you have a short you can also proceed as you usually do for a short); and 2) you will receive a $2 discount on the airport fee once per shift.
Hybrid vehicles do not qualify for any special perks, regardless of what you may have been told.
* If your Smart Card is lost or stolen, you should report it as soon as possible to the shift manager at (650) 821-2700. Someone is on duty from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., or you can leave a message overnight. Once you have reported the card, it will be disabled and any balance will be refunded within two days. (Until recently, cards were not disabled for 24 hours after being reported lost or stolen.) But remember, if you don’t report the card, you’re stuck. So if you lose it, be sure to let them know!!

Editor’s note: To get a Smart Card, you have to sign a registration form containing the following statement:
“By signing this registration form you agree that SFO will not be held liable for any monetary losses incurred by using the SFO Taxicab Smart Card System and that you will be responsible for all charges placed on your credit cards or debit cards by the Add Value Machines.”
In other words, you’re legally responsible if the machine screws up, or if your lost or stolen card has not been disabled. The airport says it will reimburse drivers for problems with the system, but according to the waiver, they don’t have to.