Tale of two tales

By Don McCurdy

I recently read a few different reports about the New York taxicab industry. One reported by the NYC Taxicab and Limousine Commission discussed the terrific taxi service provided to wheelchair customers in Manhattan. A second article concerned the idea that Brooklyn was becoming a taxicab graveyard.

The first report blasted wheelchair accessible dispatch numbers that sounded very impressive. NYC is on pace to dispatch 60,000 trips through the service. Wow, that does sound impressive. The report went on to say that they managed this success with only 1100 accessible yellow taxis and 580 accessible green cabs. Wow that is impressive! That puts each vehicle right at 3 trips per month.

The amazing part of the story is that they're planning to expand the service to the outer boroughs. "Advocates" are worried that there are just not enough vehicles. Huh? I'd be more worried that the drivers were going to starve to death.

I don't want to seem like I'm boasting but the city of Houston Yellow Cab Company managed a similar response time with 680 vehicles, doing more trips than that in a week with a service area the size of New Jersey. Don't get me wrong, providing that service isn't a cake walk, but the second part of the story is about the taxicab wasteland that Brooklyn has become.

Now, it seems to me that the two stories merging into one story, how the city helped expand the wheelchair fleet, would help to improve the Brooklyn taxi wasteland situation. The city has done little to salvage medallion values. This could be an opportunity for the city to assist a few medallion owners and improve the life of handicapped New Yorkers at the same
time.

Pssst, wanna buy some enforcement?

Okay, let's start off with I'm not a lawyer. Now that we've determined that, it's been reported that Uber and Lyft drivers in Los Angles have been getting flagged down by undercover police officers and asked if they can take them to a destination for cash. When the driver agrees the officer pulls a badge and arrests them.

Help me out here. How is the act of attempting to flag down an Uber driver not entrapment? Now, if you stand on the corner and flag at taxicabs and an Uber driver sees you and stops and offers to pick you up that would be a clear violation.

If you're standing at a taxicab stand with no taxicabs and an Uber driver stops and makes you an offer to take you for cash that would be a clear violation. Now, if you flag down an Uber and talk the driver into taking you to a destination that seems a bit coercive to me.

So, if you're an Uber driver and you see someone bleeding in the street and they're waving at you, don't stop. The really interesting part of the story is that the entire "sting" operation is paid for by the taxicab industry. Yep, in Los Angeles it's reported that you have to pay an extra $30 a month per taxicab to get the city to enforce the law. The maximum punishment for the violation is reported to be six months in the county jail.

Okay, let's all close our eyes and imagine how much it would cost the city or county to lock up a prisoner for six months. Uh huh, I can see that happening. Makes me wonder though, how much does it cost to get the LAPD to catch a burglar?

Oh no, how could that happen?

According to published reports, women in Manitoba don't feel safe in taxicabs. It seems that a number of them are reporting sexual advances and propositions from taxicab drivers.

In the last few weeks two Winnipeg women reported getting offered money for sex! The Taxicab Board wasn't immediately available for comment on the story. I wonder why? Well, let's set the wayback machine, Sherman, and visit the Manitoba Taxi Board in the year 2010.

Yes, I believe it was the year 2010 when Jerry Kozubal was removed from the taxi board for bringing up the subject of immigrant drivers and their interactions with women. Jerry got a little brutalized back then but maybe the drivers in question weren't new to Canada like the ones Jerry was noticing. The story doesn't say.

Fact is that there are cultural differences that would lead one to believe that a "sensitivity course" might be in order. However, whatever you do, don't bring that up. The last guy that did got fired. Apparently, Canadians can't hand the truth.

Another one bites the dust

The Chicago taxicab industry is reported on the ropes. The high priced medallions are reported to be getting turned back in. Business is down 30% at the airport since "ride share" companies have been allowed to pick up there. This situation seems to be going on everywhere, not just Chicago.

So, what happened? Well, I talked to some business travelers and I found out that they were just slightly displeased with their choices for transportation when traveling. No, what? One commented that his company paid in the neighborhood of $10,000 in limousine fees when his company had sales meetings in Las Vegas just to keep their people out of taxicabs. Now the entire affair costs less than $1,000 with Uber.

How awful would riding in a taxicab have to be for a company to pay $10,000 just to keep the sales people out of taxicabs? Well, with Uber you get a clean car, no cash is necessary and the entire transportation event shows up on your credit card statement. The itemized list went something like this,

• Credit Cards.
  Credit Cards are no problem with Uber. How many times have I been told by a taxi driver that his/her credit card machine was down? He/she would be happy to take me to an ATM, with the meter running of course. Business travelers don't have to worry about having to carry cash to avoid being late to a meeting.
  
  
• Clean Vehicles.
  I've never actually used Uber. I was told that in all of his travels he has NEVER gotten into a dirty Uber car. I've traveled a bit in my career, and I can most certainly not say that about taxicabs.
  
  
• Driver rating.
  I am told that the customer can see a picture of the driver and get their rating before accepting them. Many taxicab companies I am familiar with consider the driver their customer and really couldn't care less about the driver's interaction with the passengers as long as the drivers pay their lease. He pays, he stays, is too often the philosophy.
  
  While I'm sure that financing is available somewhere, it was for me, to purchase a vehicle, an Uber driver has to have a reasonably new vehicle. If they get too many bad reviews they aren't allowed on the system. I wonder how many taxicab companies even have a method for determining their customer's satisfaction.
  
  
• Fare calculation.
  Is there a reason for an Uber driver to go the long way when the fare has been determined? This may be another example of the quality of the driver but it was mentioned to me.
  
  
• Speed of service.
  Taxicab companies have had GPS methods of dispatch available to them for over a decade but many have failed to utilize it. Why? Well, let's look at the business model. If I make my money leasing vehicles to service the customer base wouldn't making the taxicabs more efficient mean I could do the job with less taxicabs? Why in the world would I want to do that? Truth is, most don't which leads to slower customer service.
  
  
• Cost.
  In many instances Uber can provide the service cheaper than a taxicab because of regulations affecting taxicabs. If I have to purchase a medallion from the city for half a million dollars somebody has to pay that money. Yes, you can mortgage it for thirty years like your home, but somebody still has to pay the loan.

A part time Uber driver with no medallion, no commercial insurance and no taxicab, no inspector looking for ways to generate revenue for the city, can simply provide the service cheaper than a taxicab driver. This is especially true if the Uber driver is a part time driver just picking up a little extra money.

All in all, the taxicab industry has relied on regulations and barriers to entry to protect them from the evil competitors. That protection is fading fast. Time will tell who has failed and who has been left to gather the spoils.

If you have any comments regarding this or any of my articles please feel free to contact me at don@mcacres.com. - dmc