Re:Why can't we get rid of taxi medallions? (2012)
by nemo44x on Tuesday October 06, 2015 @10:38AM
(#10339154)
It's even better for the taxi drivers who have to rent the medallions for 12 hour shifts. There were more drivers than taxi's until recently and drivers would bid the rental prices up. It was either that or they didn't make any money. Now garages sit with extra cars.
Instead of paying up to $250 for a shift drivers now have the power and can pick between garages and get a car for $125 now. That's money directly in their pocket.
Every NYC cabbie I've spoken to who doesn't own a medallion loves Uber for precisely this reason. I'm sure it will balance out but certainly not in the garages favor. But for people with a hack license and an Uber account, they have the power to pick and choose which option serves them best today and that might mean driving a cab one day and driving their Uber the next.
It's for precisely this reason I can't see why the left tends to be suspicious of Uber in NYC. I think it's great drivers have agency.
Instead of paying up to $250 for a shift drivers now have the power and can pick between garages and get a car for $125 now. That's money directly in their pocket.
Every NYC cabbie I've spoken to who doesn't own a medallion loves Uber for precisely this reason. I'm sure it will balance out but certainly not in the garages favor. But for people with a hack license and an Uber account, they have the power to pick and choose which option serves them best today and that might mean driving a cab one day and driving their Uber the next.
It's for precisely this reason I can't see why the left tends to be suspicious of Uber in NYC. I think it's great drivers have agency.