the question to ask is why should medallions have been introduced in the first place? the taxi business in ny and the housing market was just fine before the local government screwed it up with regulations. it is one thing to ask drivers to pass a reasonable test on city geography. nowadays that is even unnecessary with GPS.it is another to limit the number of entries to the business.
I bet you that's not the government's doing. It's actually the taxi union itself that wants to restrict entries to the business to face less competition and just lobbied for the government to come out with this taxi medallion system and at the same time promising the government a cut. Honestly the government couldn't care less how many taxi's are on the road as long as it can collect revenue. Except even this restriction of entries to the business is botched. Like I said, if they really want to restrict the no. of taxis on the road, they shouldn't allow the reselling of the medallion. It should be One medallion retired, one medallion returned and cancelled and replaced with another. Aside from inflation, the newer owner of a taxi shouldn't have to pay more than the previous owner for the same privilege of operating a taxi business.
In the case of NYC...I will never understand how the TLC allowed their medallions do get devalued on such a scale. They were one of the most powerful entities of government that were supposedly "protecting" the cherished yellow cab industry yet bowed to the influx of Uber and Lyft. Envelopes obviously hit the right desks and they sold out to their most valued constituents. I have no horse in this game but it is clear that they let in a newcomer and hung their medallion owners out to dry knowing full and well that medallion prices would take a huge hit. Uber works well in markets that are under serviced by cabs and mass transit, but how on earth do you allow them to saturate a market that you know full and well demands prices that requires people to take out mortgages to operate? London got rid of them and major cities that regulate their own taxi businesses should do the same.
Taxi's are too expensive, because they make a monopoly out of them and force the purchase of ridiculous priced medallions. Let's make the license 10,000,000 , and the fares $200 a pop while you're at it
he is the stalking horse for the real thing. his real boss, the Commie wife, will be running for mayor.
Clueless the medallions have cost a fortune for ..... decades!!!!!! The so-called scam (you try making a living driving in NYC putting up with all kinds of trash) went on for generations of drivers. LOL so now that they are down kick 'em huh. Jokers.
who is them? the drivers who rent their cabs or the medallion owners. no sympathy for medallion owners is given to those came late to this game.