These vivid 1980s photos show gritty San Francisco cab life in the days before Uber

‘Driving cabs is a funny game. You meet random people in random order.’

“He’s looking out the side window, I’m looking in the rear view mirror,” says Washburn. “Cabbies are taught not to discuss what they earn, it’s considered bad form, but I will say that if I finished a day with $100 in my pocket after 10 long hours of driving through the city, I’d probably feel alright about the night.” (Bill Washburn)

European tourists, foreign businessmen, poets, models, and locals escaping the rain — the people hailing cabs haven’t changed over the years, but their hair, accessories, and fashions have. These candid photographs by Portland-based photographer Bill Washburn were captured from the dash of his taxi when he worked as a San Francisco cabbie in the early 1980s. Not just a fascinating study of people, these images are also a portal to Fog City before the tech booms and busts—before Uber and Lyft, and before self-driving cars.

“As a taxi driver, I had a very privileged viewpoint,” says Washburn who drove a cab between 1982 and 1986 to supplement his income during art school. “It was an opportunity to get to know San Francisco intensely. It was a dynamic city, I worked it all, not just downtown.”

Washburn’s unorthodox portraits are strange nostalgic triggers for a city we may not have known then but know now, through daily headlines, of a city drastically changed by decades of housing market spikes, mass displacement and gentrification. There’s loss as well as discovery in these photos.

“We were coming down from Twin Peaks, at the top of O’Shaughnessy Blvd.” (Bill Washburn)

Very early on, Washburn determined he could, and should, share his perspective. The Olympus X-series cameras were hitting the market and the tiny 35mm rangefinders were perfect for mounting on his dash. After picking up a passenger, Washburn would read the situation and decide whether to pitch his picture-taking. He always asked permission. If the passenger agreed to be photographed, Washburn removed the knit cap that covered the camera and shot a frame.

“When you’re driving you don’t get to see your passengers!” says Washburn who was scratching his own curiosity itch as much as he was making a unique body of work for others. “Driving cabs is a funny game. You meet random people in random order. It gave me good purchase on the city. I got to speak to many different people.”

Two Italians. “Out for the night. Very stylish. This is the only photo for which I paid attention to the background as we were going through the Broadway Tunnel.” (Bill Washburn)

To The Airport. “This was a pick up in Lower Haight. We had a great conversation. She had matching cream leather, high-end suitcases.” (Bill Washburn)

A Michael Jackson impersonator and friend. Picked up close to the Moscone Centre, South of Market, the impersonator had been performing for tourists at Fisherman’s Wharf that day. “Must have had a good day and decided the fare to Visitacion Valley was worth it.” (Bill Washburn)

“The kid looked terrified. There’s a man in the cab who’s not in the frame. When they got in I felt all the air get sucked out the cab. Something felt wrong here, I don’t know what it was, but it seemed wrong. I asked to make a picture; I wanted to see what that looked like. The guy said ‘Can’t you see the lady’s not feeling well?’ I apologised but later the desire to have a picture overcame his reluctance and he said that if I gave them a print then I could make the picture. The only other time I promised to provide a print to my subjects was a photo of the Michael Jackson impersonator.” (Bill Washburn)

Those random people take main stage separated from the ever-present Washburn at stage right with his big specs and scruffy facial hair. “I guess these were made before the word selfie was invented,” Washburn notes. “I made pictures in which I was not in the frame at all, but they didn’t work,” he says.

Australian Tourists. “This kid definitely wants his mug in there. His smile just above the seat-back. The man’s got a leather jacket on like Crocodile Dundee! Generally, what I love about all these pictures is that there’s the foreground which I occupy, the main stage which the passengers occupy and then the background out the rear window, where they’re coming from.” (Bill Washburn)

Two Gentlemen From Malaysia. “This is down at the bottom of Market Street. That’s the Hyatt Regency on the right. They’d just gotten in the cab and asked if I could take their picture, specifically in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. They were on their way to the airport to go back home but they wanted a picture in front of the bridge so this is the drive out there. It was wonderful for me. I took their picture. It was good money; all the way out to the bridge and then to the airport. A well spent afternoon.” (Bill Washburn)

“This was one of the first pictures I took that worked. I love the way the light flares in the background. Two local kids in the Mission. I’m pretty sure the only reason they were taking a taxi was because it was raining like mad. They were soaked.” (Bill Washburn)

Washburn gave up driving cabs in 1986, when he felt he had used up all his luck. The negative effects of the city seemed to creep closer. The exotic edge was gone, and the atmosphere felt increasingly dehumanizing. “That was the Reagan years. I noticed changes in the culture. Lonely, bitter people who want to snort coke with you. Passengers were going to great lengths to get crack. The city was changing and it was getting to expensive.”

The final straw came one Friday night when a cabbie was murdered while on the job. When Washburn went in for his shift on the Saturday there was no mention of it, not even a notice on the board. Two weeks later, he worked his final shift. By that time he had made over 300 pictures.

‘Two Conventioneers’ “I asked if I could make their picture and they said ‘Just as long as it doesn’t take any time.’ I think they just wanted to get back to the hotel.” (Bill Washburn)

(left) Two Poets. “They were a hip couple. Both in their leather jackets. I saw them a couple of times consequently. They understood what I was up to.” | (right) Two Moustaches. (Bill Washburn)

“This is one my favorite pictures. I explained I was taking photos of my passengers and I gave her my standard rap. She said, ‘No, I’m tired, I just sat three hours in a drafty bay window modeling.’ I said I was sorry to ask, but then she said that if it was no bother I could make one photo. She so illuminates this side of the frame. You don’t mind seeing all the empty space because [the photo] is still focused all on her. Her gaze fills the empty space.” (Bill Washburn)

California. “This guy was one of my favorite rides. He came from the Deep South. I drove him maybe three or four times through San Francisco. The same 20-minute ride. He was very conversant; we had great times.” (Bill Washburn)