Everyday Heroes: Taxi Driver Corey Lamb

Everyday Heroes: Taxi Driver Corey Lamb
By Sarah Hellman

Corey Lamb shown without his face mask for the purposes of this photo only.

Corey Lamb is a veteran taxi driver with over 10 years of experience, and one of our unsung heroes. Corey provides at least 50 trips each month to wheelchair users who are unable to use Muni's accessible but regular fixed-route service. And during the shelter in place order, he has been actively transporting patients to needed medical appointments — patients like San Francisco resident Amelia Sison.

Lamb is representative of the many taxi drivers who are working hard during this health emergency to serve the needs of our most vulnerable residents who need to take trips for essential services.

For Sison, Lamb is her lifeline to the community. Since her necessary medical treatments began last year, Lamb has been her regular taxi driver, transporting her at least three times a week to and from appointments.

Awarded the 2019 Systemwide Paratransit Driver of the Year, Lamb has been an instrumental part of providing transportation to many seniors and individuals with disabilities through his participation in the city's ramp taxi program.

San Francisco launched the ramp taxi program in 1994 to ensure that wheelchair users had access to on-demand taxi service. Dedicated ramp taxi drivers like Lamb have made the city's ramp taxi program a leading model among paratransit programs in providing on-demand transportation services to wheelchair users.

For Lamb, this job isn't just about driving his passengers to their destinations — he has had the opportunity to meet people from all around the world. In 2019, he's met people from Canada, Spain, the UK, Sweden, India, Australia and from around the United States – all of whom use a wheelchair as their primary mobility method. Through his work, Lamb has assisted this community's independent lifestyle, treating each passenger with dignity and respect.

Know another driver or frontline SFMTA worker who’s doing a great job? Acknowledge those going above and beyond. Please share a photo (with their permission) along with their name and a quick description to  SFTaxi@SFMTA.com. Some examples are:

• An everyday hero doing extra cleaning at your division
• Teammates getting creative to practice social distancing
• Something special a colleague did to support a team member during this challenging time

Published May 13, 2020 at 05:37PM
https://ift.tt/2Z1J2HU