New York City’s yellow cabs have been a symbol of the metropolis for decades.But taxi drivers only make up for the minute Ten% Out of the landscape of the entire city driver uber and lift.
This is largely due to consumer choice and the ease of ordering rideshare vehicles, but it is also a result of the harsh working conditions faced by taxi drivers. They work an average of 9.5 hours a day, six days a week, according to the government. Journal of Transport and Health. Additionally, driving a taxi requires the driver to own or lease a medallion, which can be expensive.
Artificially inflated through the lure of scarce assets, predatory lending, and intentional overpayments by industry leaders, medallions reached hefty prices in excess of $1 million in the early 2010s.
Then, with the rise of Uber and Lyft, prices skyrocketed, causing great pain to drivers who owned their own medallions.of COVID The pandemic made things even worse, with taxi hailers almost non-existent.
“Due to government shutdowns in various cities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many drivers have moved to other locations,” said David Do, chairman of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.
Now, taxi drivers are fighting for space within the industry as they bounce back from the medallion crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
So can taxis survive in a changing industry?
Watch the video for more details.
Correction: According to the Journal of Transport & Health, taxi drivers in New York City work an average of 9.5 hours a day, six days a week. In previous versions, the attribution of information was incorrect.
