San Francisco taxi remain with medallion No. 666

City’s taxi commission sees no reason to get rid of taxi medallion No. 666.

Cab driver Michael Byrne asked the agency to retire the number that was assigned to him last year, saying it has brought him nothing but bad luck.

Some other cabbies, however, brought a touch of levity to the debate Tuesday as they argued against retirement.

"How dare you take Lucifer's number away?" said Thomas George-Williams, president of the cab drivers union, who was sporting red horns. "This is a serious issue."

The commission voted 5-1 Tuesday to keep No. 666 on the streets.

Commissioner Ton Oneto said the 666 medallion had been around for at least 30 years and San Francisco has survived.