If there is anything that Travis Kalanack, the Ayn Randist head honcho of the aptly named Uber taxi and limo dispatch company and Michael Bloomberg, investor in Uber's competitor, Lyft agree about it is that the New York taxi medallion business must die.
Michael Bloomberg.once vowed to "fuckin' destroy" the New York taxi business. Yeah, look jt up.
Lyft and UberX are unlawful taxi companies that hire unlicensed drivers. UberX says that it can put an unlicensed taxi driver who has no credit into an unlicensed taxi for thirty dollars a day and have him working immediately.
Funny how a guy who applies for a real Taxi Driver License must now wait 70 days to get the license. A driver who renews his license does not receive it on time. He is told by telephone to wait.(If he disregards this instruction he actually will be handed his license though he is told to wait at home to receive his renewed license. This is a case where obedience punishes. Taxi driving is a high turnover occupation so these attempts to reduce the pool are attacks on the medallion market and recruitment tools for Uber X and Lyft.
Harsh new license revocation procedures also will help staff the lawless but well funded taxi services.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT DEPUTY TAXI COMMISSIONER CHHABRA WAS RECENTLY HIRED BY UBER. These steps against the medallion and in favor of Uber would appear to have been done with deliberation.
SPECIAL NOTE IF YOU WANT TO BE A MEDALLION OWNER DRIVER. ; If your license is suspended or revoked under de Blasio's new rules your million dollar investment will be trashed.
An uneven playing field between the medallion taxi and Uber X / Lyft is in the fare itself. Your medallion fare is both regulated and highly taxed. There is a fifty cent tax going to the Transit Authority on every taxi ride. There will be a thirty cents per ride fee to pay for wheelchair accessible taxis and there is the temporarily suspended tax meant for Bhairavi Desai's slush fund. Uber and lyft fares don't carry these burdens. In addition these outfits have massive amounts of money and venture capitalist angel investors ready to lose money in the short run just to run the yellow taxi off the road.
