Just a comment about not finding a note.
This is largely an invention of TV and movies that suicides always leave a note so if one isn't found it must be murder.
In reality, very few suicides leave a note and if you think about it, you can understand why. Most suicides are done as a result of a momentary impulse and not some well thought out process. If someone has the ability to sit down and write out a rational reason for suicide, it is unlikely he will proceed with the act.
5
I share this thought at the risk of backlash, but I truly can't understand why no one seems to be discussing it, now or in the past few years: Why is it that the average person (often out of necessity) changes jobs 5-7 times throughout his/her lifetime, while taxi drivers--and their advocates--don't seek out alternative careers? It's a blue-collar job, to be sure. But how many people do we here know who have made a lateral move out of financial obligation? My father--college-educated--lost his job as a mid-level manager later in his career (late 50s), and since then has worked as a retail salesperson and a bus driver. Similarly, one previous poster observed that Uber (Lift, etc.) drivers have entered the fray in order to supplement their primary source of income. Now, the taxi medallion issue is a glaring problem. Might the answer be to lobby city officials to buy them back? Let's face it: taxi drivers are going the way of blacksmiths. Why not now begin a conversation about what jobs these unfortunate people can realistically transition in to?
13
No doubt economic challenges can be a factor in suicide but as many well to do people commit suicide it is far from the only one or even the major one.
Unfortunately, the article adds to the myth that suicide is usually related to a single event or challenge. As there are millions of people who face financial challenges that are just as bad as those described in the article and don't attempt suicide, there obviously is far more going on when someone does.
This also suggests that they only way the death might have been avoided was to change the financial circumstances and not receiving mental health treatment.
4
When I first read the article , I thought 'how terrible ' but after reading a few comments , I can see why there is a preference for Uber and
Lyft. I now live North of Toronto. I only take a cab when I absolutely
have to . Why ? I resent riding in a cab while the driver carries
on a loud cellphone conversation in a language I do not understand.
I resent the expectation of a large tip and the added cost of not
paying in cash. If Uber can correct these annoyances , I would
welcome them.
11
Uber is just a competing taxi service. The previous taxi service were required to purchase government-authorized medallions in order to drive taxis for hire on city streets.
Uber shows up and the same government does not require Uber or its drivers to purchase medallions in order to participate as taxi drivers.
It is the government that is at fault.
Accordingly, it is the government that is responsible to accomplish the remedy in one of two ways: 1) Require Uber to purchase the medallions for a comparable price as that paid by the traditional taxi drivers. By reason of bottom line necessity, Uber will have to raise the rates it charges customers and thus make traditional taxi rates competitive once again in the marketplace. 2) The government that issued the now worthless taxi medallions should be required to repurchase the now worthless medallions from traditional taxi drivers. And, thus, traditional taxi services would be able to charge lower and more competitive rates with Uber.
12
I’ve the taxi drivers an app.
3
Why is no one addressing, other than Ms. Fitzsimmons in her article, the exorbitant medallion fees of taxi drivers? "They're now as low as $175,000" ??? That's a major business investment, no? And what about those drivers who paid double, triple or more than that for their medallions? While Uber is no saint, please direct your fury at the Taxi and Limousine Commission for allowing this atrocity to exist in the first place!
11
First, let me say, that it is incredibly sad for this man's family that he took his ow life. However, This cannot be blamed on Uber. It is not Uber's fault that this man died. Obviously, underlying mental illness/depression compounded by certain economic hardships brought him to this point.
Now, in regards to Yellow Cabs: Do we think that running out into the street and waving our hands out at YC's so that they are careening towards us and each other is better than calling an Uber on one's phone, knowing it will take exactly five minutes for a car to arrive, and stepping outside to see that car waiting for you? How about trying to hail a cab from a neighborhood in Queens? How many times have people been turned down when the YC driver asked where they we re going and the answer was "the Bronx." Yellow cabs have had a stranglehold on the industry for years and many of it's drivers behaved as much. As sad as this man's passing is, it has nothing to do Uber. He owned his medallion. Most medallion owners rent medallions for a fee. (to drivers who ar uninsured and sometimes undocumented. I, personally am not saddened by the demise of the yellow cab and look forward to the rise ride share companies like Uber and Ryde.
9
Whenever disturbed individuals take their lives because of technological innovation the Times should run a story like this.
1
As an African-American New Yorker who spent decades being ignored by yellow cabs, Viva la Uber!
25
I feel very sad for this individual driver and for all the taxi drivers who offer excellent service. But until yellow cabs confront the reasons why services such as Uber and Lyft have been able to surpass yellow cabs in the number of rides, their usage will continue to decline along with the value of their medallions.
Uber and Lyft, quite simply, offer far superior service. Their cars are always clean and well-maintained. The drivers are almost universally friendly and helpful, their prices is lower and you never have to almost, literally, beg, for one to pick you up.
Gone are the days when the stereotypically rude NYC cabbie in his filthy car was somehow considered just a part of the singular NY experience. Given the choice, most will favor cleanliness and politeness to rudeness and filthiness.
I will never forget the time I was traveling with my sister and hailed a cab to go just 4 blocks. The driver (in his dirty vehicle, by the way) nearly lost it, yelling at me for bothering him with such a small trip. I explained that my sister had a sprained ankle and could not even walk that short distance. It didn't matter. We had to endure his loud complaints the entire four blocks.
And that is just one bad incident. Yellow cab drivers need to form an alliance that promotes politeness, cleanliness and good service. Only then (maybe) will New Yorkers return to this once-somewhat-beloved service.
11
I never once had that problem with taking a short trip and I do it all the time. In fact, they love short trips because the meter starts at a few dollars so they can make much more in short easy rides.
1
Everyone defending Uber and Lyft should also disagree with ACA's minimum requirements for health insurance, and with employment standards regulating minimum wages, maternity benefits, teacher education requirements, and etc and etc...
9
When in a city that has cabs, I prefer to take them. But in towns where they aren't available, Uber and Lyft are lifesavers.
5
Why isn't three a cooperatively owned application, where the drivers get the profits? The software should be licensed, not a way to own the labor of everyone who touches it.
3
Disruption is now a fact of life for businesses, and those who don't get with the times will wither up and die. Sad but true.
I tried one of the TLC ride-hailing apps and kept having problems and getting error messages. And of course, there was no one for me to contact for help with the app. So I had to give up and go back to using Lyft. I tried, TLC!
2
My close friend drives, and the desperation is tangible. Cabbies have huge loans for medallions that are underwater far worse than after the housing crash. My friend is driving 12-14 hour days 6 days a week, and is sliding financially.
A carefully-licensed industry is being disrupted by services that are not required to meet the same standards such as for safety. Not what one would call a fair fight, since meeting those standards is expensive.
I would expect more suicides.
12
Although that is undoubtedly true, this driver purchased his medallion for roughly its current value, $180,000. If he was underwater, it was because of his own choice to treat his medallion as an ATM.
I've asked before and still do wonder--if he borrowed against his medallion, where is the money, and why can't it be used to pay his debts?
There are many issues here that need to be separated from one another--the pure psychological effect of seeing an investment decline in value being one of them.
I find it curious that the family's fundraising website makes it sound as though he bought the medallion for a million dollars. He did not.
6
My husband and I travel to NYC frequently to visit our daughter who lives on the Upper West Side. Several times recently taxis have refused to drive us back to the airport. Yes, they stop for us, but when informed of our destination they drive away with a shake of the head. I was informed that this is illegal yet it does happen.
24
Cities set up the medallion system so they could limit the number of taxicabs. Yet the need for taxis is greater than the number of medallions. That is in part why companies such as Uber and Lyft are so popular. Cities claim they sell the medallions to protect the citizens. Instead they provide profits for some without providing extra benefits. This fall in medallion price is no different than what happened with the housing bubble. The municipal governments got us into this mess and now they should help out the independent taxi drivers so they are not driven to such despair as the driver described herein.
5
come on now its Uber's fault these people killed themselves how preposterous an idea. only mentally ill people kill themselves. Yellow cabs were a monopoly, thank God we have Uber and the others. clean safe transportation for the masses. This outcome is the abject failure of government to provide State of the art public transportation. what we have today is falling apart and you have to put up with mentally ill people on the subways
7
They committed suicide because they were sick people who couldn't handle life's pressures and that's very sad. But, to blame advanced technology as the reason is disingenuous. They had opportunities to join the ride sharing industry but clung to the dinosaur known as a taxi. Will Toys R Us workers now kill themselves over Amazon?
5
How did U.S. immigration policymakers determine that this country “needed” to admit so many Romanians, Ethiopians, Somalis, Ukrainians, Russians, etc. to drive taxis?
And if Michael Cohen is such a scary genius, how did his companies end up owing many tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes for their taxi medallions? He should have figured out how to bail out before the value of the medallions cratered.
4
This NY purist only uses yellow cabs. Uber and Lyft are making this city uninhabitable. The congestion is intolerable.
Limit them and clean up/modernize the subway system along the lines of BART in San Francisco. I mean come ON, our subways are a disgrace.
Hang in there, yellows.
11
This physically handicapped person is very happy that I don’t have to try to hail a yellow cab outside sitting a wheelchair . People always push ahead of me . Also I’m so grateful that my daughter who works late many nights can set up an Uber to get her home instead of waiting in the street to try to hail a cab which is a grave threat to her safety . Uber drivers a for the most part courteous and helpful . Uber was invented by people who had a lot of trouble getting cabs yellow cabs could have set up a similar system but didn’t bother because they had everything they wanted and gave little thought about keeping their customers happy .. Statistically having an Uber service in your city brings down the rate of DUI accidents injuries and death .
The taxi industry was a monopoly that needed to be destroyed .
I’m grateful for the existence of Uber , Lyft etc .
I don’t live in Manhattan anymore but I have a lot of family and friends who do .
And they vote .
Diblasio you’d better take notice .
11
The smart money says New York became uninhabitable and intolerable many decades ago. Uber has nothing to do with it.
4
I recommended limiting them, not eliminating them.
There is a point of diminishing returns with too many cars on the road clogging movement to a standstill all day long while filling our air with more particulates.
You mention that you moved. Take it from those of us who stayed, many of whom initially welcomed Uber. It’s a disaster.
2
Sorry, but I have no sympathy for taxi drivers. Do you have any idea how many taxis I hail in Manhattan refuse to drive me when I say I'm going to Queens? Many, many times. This illegal practice has occurred for years. It's about time Uber and other similar companies put these taxi drivers out of business.
30
If there's historically been a lack of yellow taxis in the boroughs, why not let Uber operate more freely there than in Manhattan?
3
No, the problem is not lack of taxis in the boroughs. The problem is that taxis in Manhattan regularly illegally refuse to drive passengers into the boroughs from Manhattan. They believe they can make more with short strips within Manhattan rather than a long trip out to Queens or Brooklyn. This is illegal but has been going on for a VERY long time.
14
People react different to different things. And when a man is late in life takes financial setbacks very hard, as he sees the hardwork of a lifetime wiped away and without the needed time to recoup the loss. my father had a similar crises late in life. He bought a taxi medallion back in the 80s and worked hard for years to pay it off, then finally when he was a few payments away, some guy he knew convinced a bunch of cabbies to sign their medallions over to him, the plan was to create a fleet of cabs, my dad would be the dispatcher, meaning he wouldn't have to drive anymore. my dad trusted this man, The man stole the medallions and sold them, all the work, all those years of hard work was stolen from my father. The man was caught and went to trial, he was a very wealthy swindler, he lived in a big house in Westchester. He went to prison for fraud, served 2 years and was released, my father never got a dime back.
.. It's a tough world, and a tough city, just as my father saw the greed of one man rob him of his personal treasure, Mr Ochisor also lost out to greed as well as a new technological advancement none could have forseen. The story of both men are cautionary tales, sign nothing, trust none with your money , the future will see many jobs vanish as robots, self driving cars and other 'advancements' displace millions of jobs, in a country where unfettered capitalism and buyer beware is the rule and the rich care little for the lives they ruin.
4
Yes the technological advancement could have been foreseen and implemented by the yellow cabs themselves .its all based in GPS technology which has been around for a while now .and actually yellow cabs make the city roads unsafe . Have you never experienced being cut off by or getting hit by a yellow cab ? Uber riders can rate their drivers and their drivers can rate them .
I hope Uber is around for as long as needed until an even better technology comes along .
4
Just wait till all these Uber, Lyft, etc cars are self-driving. Then even Uber drivers will be out of work.
6
If this is what the human race chooses to do to itself, it's its choice and has only itself to blame for the outcome.
2
It is sad to hear about these suicides, but I do not feel any sympathy for the yellow taxi system and I'm glad they are suffering because that's what they deserve. They were a monopoly; taxi drivers that couldn't drive or communicate in English; discriminating to who they'd pick up and choosing whether passengers were worth driving to certain locations. All a bad business model that needed something to change, but at the time nothing was available until Uber - a cure to a growing public transportation cancer consisting of yellow taxis for the reasons mentioned above, and the MTA which is getting less reliable by the year. The Uber CEO created this because he couldn't get a taxi, so he found a solution to a problem and I admire him for that. If the yellow cab industry was proactive, made their own app and if medallion owners were aware that their investments were threatened, they would've been a competitor. They chose to be stubborn and non-conforming. Pure stupidity.
10
In China the major ride app, Didi, allows you to call local taxis. I exclusively use the app to call taxis because I prefer them when driving around with our kid. A nice first step for dealing with Uber in the US would be to compel the app to allow taxis to be called. Let the taxis in.
7
The world is changing and advancing. You have to compete everyday in life. If you can't beat them, join them.
Our only hope at this point is to learn to cooperate instead of competing.
One assumes a winner and a loser, and the other looks for winning on both sides.
3
It is extremely sad when one's job or business is threatened or destroyed by disruption. And terrible when it leads to depression, other stress related illnesses, or even death. But why is this article focused on Uber and the taxi industry. Since the beginning of time, jobs and businesses have been felled by disruption. Whether it be book stores, record stores, blacksmiths, typewriter repairman, newspaper typesetters...times change, some people are hurt. For most, life goes on, but sadly some cannot adjust to the stress - suicide is likely very rare, and likely bound by factors that have nothing to do with the disruption. Did the Times check into the suicide rate among NYC Taxi drivers both before and after the emergence of Uber? I mean working for medallion owners (as most drivers do) is and never was a "piece of cake." And what's really odd is that in the case of this disruption, taxi drivers can easily migrate to being Uber drivers, as many do (if they can pass the background check). In fact, the data might show that those that drive for a living are happier than ever - not having to answer to a medallion owner and lease a car might be a huge stress relief on average. I don't get it? This story seems more like an attack on Uber than a story about the impacts of stress arising from job dislocation.
8
Everyone has multiple stories of miserable experiences with yellow cabs. Here’s the real gut-punch: during my time in NYC, the only way to make a complaint stick was to go up to that office in the Bronx in person. Good luck getting there - you’d never find a cab willing to go to the Bronx.
Uber allows (actually requires) immediate feedback on every ride. And oh man, does it make such a huge difference.
7
I call for a cab or hail one. I will not use Uber or Lyft. My grandson worked for both & he said once that he started to hate his car, but they dangled the carrot(do so many hours & make a $500 bonus). Too many of my friends use them. In SF the traffic congestion is horrible. We also have these drivers sleeping in their cars because they live far away. Cab drivers know the city. I hope our next mayor can help get this done. Ranting, & I realize that men & women are impacted by how our lives are now.
7
Economic dislocation is real. While collectively the benefits of Uber to consumers outweigh the cost, that cost is disproportionately born by drivers. I would gladly pay more in taxes if I can count on a safety net during times of needs. It's the same basic reason I buy home, health, and car insurance. That safety doesn't have to come from the government, but some authority has to build and regulate it, just like any other insurance market.
On a personal and different note, once I was stranded in Queens because AirTrain to JFK caught track fire. All cabs were full and I didn't have any ridesharing app. I basically hitchhiked. Finally a driver (who happened to be a black man) offered me a ride and got me to JFK in the nick of time.
1
This article reminded me of the Industrial Revolution and the Luddites, sad as it may be. I grew up in Manhattan and have taken taxis all over the United States and in many, many countries around the world. I refuse to take a taxi now in DC or anywhere else for that matter. They are filthy beyond belief and generally very small cars. Of course, they are also more expensive. In fact, in every city I have ever visited, the taxi is far more expensive than the Uber or Lyft. Finding a taxi outside of downtown DC used to be impossible. Trying to book one for an early morning flight was a joke--they took your booking and never showed. Uber and Lyft have utterly removed my need to drive a car or even own a car and the idea of even renting one is a sort of like a crazy last resort. How is this bad for the consumer? Why are people defending an industry that (let's face it) none of us liked when it was the only available option. Driving in broken down cars with no A/C in summer vs. an always clean car at cheaper prices? And with GPS, we know we aren't being robbed, like we always felt we were in NYC. And to add to one person's story here, I remember trying to take a taxi in Prague in 1994. The driver wanted 400 crowns just to get going and turn the meter on. My friend who spoke Czech asked why, and the driver said, "I've been sitting at this hotel for two hours and I want to be paid for my time." We got out of that taxi and took another. Progress is progress and can be difficult.
13
I too feel sorry for the Ochisor family. He was in no position to do anything about competition from the ride hailing services.
I refused to use ride hailing until this year. But, to a great extent the taxi fleet operators share the blame for his demise and the poor prospects for their businesses. The advantage ride hailing services offer is not a slightly lower cost, but a superior way to book a ride and to pay the drivers. The same ride hailing apps work almost anywhere in the country and provide information on when your ride will arrive, what it will cost and how long it will take. And the bill goes directly to your credit card account. And the driver doesn't have to carry a lot of cash. Perhaps, their unjustified fear of middle class black men might even be reduced.
10
This is a cautionary tale about the "sharing economy" that everyone seems to be in love with...this trending catchphrase is nothing but an euphemism for indentured servitude with characteristics reminiscent of the bartering economy of the Middle Ages.
There is nothing wrong with innovation and change and even with breaking tightly controlled monopolies, but let's make sure that what serves as a replacement is not worse than what we already have.
Also, we might want to consider the downside of all these apps and services and how our convenience oftentimes comes at the expense of someone's livelihood. Think...soon that could you...
11
This sort of thing shouldn't happen in America.
No doubt that the Republican solution will be to give more tax cuts to the rich.
5
One thing very few commenters have mentioned about cab vs. Uber/Lyft: If I have a geniunely bad experience with the latter, I can immediately record that on the app. I wouldn't even begin to know who to complain to about the former ... and if I did complain to the cabbie directly, I would fear being dumped somewhere unsavory.
Also the ride-sharing apps require a registered CC or other payment method, so that tends to guarantee that the driver is going to get paid, not stiffed. And no cash involved makes it safer for rider and driver.
While I certainly feel the family's pain, I too have family members who have mucked up their lives because of poor financial judgement or lack of vision re: the technological wave sweeping the world. All any of us can do is offer wisdom and be supportive when these changes occur. We're not trees - we can pick up stakes and move out of the way!
8
Taxi's need to innovate to keep up with ride share options. Where's the app that allows me to summon a taxi and track where it's at so I know that my ride will actually show up. Taxi's no longer have a monopoly and they must adapt or they will die out. Yes ride share companies need to be regulated but they never would have been successful in disrupting the market if customers weren't frustrated by the lack of service they were getting from taxi's.
10
America has become a "survival of the fittest" culture.
There needs to be a place in our culture for those who are not sharks.
Different people have different strengths and abilities.
5
My neighborhood's livery car and taxi drivers have been beaten down by VFH companies: Lyft, Uber, and other start-ups.
Our NYC Councilor, Ydanis Rodriquez (with whom I often disagree re: rezoning Northern Manhattan) is putting forth a plan to limit VFH companies and apportion a fair distribution among car services.
A large number of drivers up here are Dominican, but people from all over the world provide us with individual transportation.
The only person who should lose value on medallions is the dishonorable Michael Cohen. Our newer cab-driving immigrants deserve better.
Winner-take-all capitalism -- especially in its current wicked iteration -- crushes those who work too hard for too little.
5
This is a sad story and I feel for the family. However, business ventures go belly up all the time for people and people lose their jobs all the time. It's awful and very difficult time for any individual to go through. But a death cannot be blamed on a single company or industry change. There are psychological factors at play that are the root cause.
6
The fact that the market for medallions was so restricted was where things first went wrong. Economist Dean Baker frequently points out on his blog Beat The Press that these kind of distortions in the marketplace involving state approved monopolies lead to all kinds of bad consequences. Newspapers sometimes recognize this but frequently ignore other more blatant examples we see with patents causing hugely inflated prices for pharmaceutical drugs and also the salaries of doctors and lawyers being artificially high because of the stringent rules that prevent qualified people from overseas practicing here. The fact that people land up commiting suicide because of the sudden collapse of a monopoly is a very sad outcome but much of the blame lies in the creation of the monopoly. Nevertheless, there's also something very distasteful about the way Uber has disrupted the market turning itself into another Goliath with which the little guy comes out the loser.
6
Any article on Uber that fails to mention the fact that it's financed at a huge loss is effectively covering up for Uber. Much like Amazon's business model, the big money behind Uber runs a staggering loss while destroying other people's businesses and lives.
Neither company has its primary business that of selling consumer products or services. Both are investment vehicles that use consumer cash flow as collateral.
Consumers may think they are sovereign, but they are pawns.
14
The city is to blame for creating the artificial scarcity market in medallions. They limit the number of cabs on the road, and help make it impossible to get a yellow cab when it rains or snows.
Because of that artificial scarcity, like Bitcoin, they created value out of nothing. So those who paid millions for a medallion got their artificial property stolen when the city allowed Uber and Lyft to operate outside the medallion system.
The best thing for the consumer is if the city had never created the medallion system. The best thing for the taxi drivers would be if Uber and Lyft had to buy a medallion.
6
In Europe, we tend to see things a bit differently.
Uber is like a taxi company, so it should be regulated as such.
It is because Uber was not complying that it got its license revoked in London, and elsewhere.
13
I am sensitive to the struggles of NYC taxi drivers, but it would be insane to protect a mere 13,000 individuals (number of medallion owners) at the expense of the millions of New Yorkers who rely on Uber/Lyft/Taxis for transportation. It may sound cruel but the city's interest is in reducing transportation costs for its residents - its a shame that entrenched interests are taking such a huge hit but that's just a risk they took when investing in a taxi medallion.
3
Rapid changes, like sudden storms are coming to the working world. Technology is changing at lightning speed, the world is now at our fingertips in that smartphone in your pocket. robots, IE, self driving trucks, self driving cars and cabs. just as a thousand secretaries typing away , with carbon paper, and type writer ribbons has been replaced by word processors, real mail by email, and a thousand other examples. What will be the jobs of the future, and is the United States going to care enough about its citizens to seriously understand the coming problem, to retrain the toll booth worker who loses his job to license plate readers, the factory worker who loses his job to a robot, etc, will these people be retrained, or as always in this country once labeled the greatest in the world- you are totally on your own, sink or swim. This change is coming quicker than thought because the greedy are getting even greedier, and the sooner they can replace truck drivers with self driving trucks which can run night and day, and cab drivers with self driving cabs the better they will like it. People should be standing up against automation, now, right now. No Trucker or cab driver should lose a job to a self driving vehicle, but who will speak up for the working man?
5
I reluctantly started using Uber and Lyft a couple of years ago and haven't looked back. The pricing is super clear up front, the apps are incredibly easy to use (no having to find a taxi company number and call a dispatcher and hope the cab shows up on time), I can see where the driver is, and the service has largely been excellent (poor drivers are quickly weeded out by consumers rating them down). This was not something the taxi industry was prepared for and has not been nimble at responding to. All that said, ride shares are wreaking havoc on the traditional drivers.
My heart goes out to the Ochisor family. There needs to be more options to aid displaced workers. Reining in Lyft and Uber isn't the solution. That will be no more successful than displaced craft workers were at halting the Industrial Revolution by smashing factory machines.
We are on the cusp of the next wave of change in transportation: autonomous vehicles. Soon, not only taxi drivers will be out of work, so will Lyft and Uber drivers. In addition, millions of truck and bus drivers. We need policy that aids workers that rely on driving to make a living as their livelihoods vanish with the inevitable technological strides forward.
Idea on how to help: a tax on ride share service and companies that use autonomous vehicles to establish a fund to provide help to displaced workers requiring retraining to enter new fields of work. Support both progress and our fellow humans.
8
establish a fund to provide help to displaced workers requiring retraining to enter new fields of work. ......"
LIKE WHAT--driving for Uber or Lyft. what exactly do you retrain a cabbie for? The cost of the medallions puts them in hock for a lifetime and now those costly medallions are becoming worthless while "apps" take over the world. Because we can, doesn't mean we should.
3
They gambled and lost. Tired of “privatising the profits and socializing the risk.” No one was forced to be a cabbie.
1
While I have mixed feelings about the issue, one matter that this article does not address is that it seems that many Uber and Lyft drivers are actually working for companies from whom they rent their cars. The competition for taxi drivers, then, is not just individuals with their own vehicles but corporations that are capitalizing on this trend.
4
With autonomous cars coming in the next couple years millions of drivers will be replaced, so this is only going to get worse. And who knows what disruptions AI will cause in other professions...
1
Farmers, loggers and fishermen as a group have the highest suicide rates of any occupation. The reasons for this are the same as Yellow Cab drivers - ruthless competition and rapid change, plus for the first three occupations, international competition. It is just not easy to be in business these days if it ever was.
3
There should be a middle ground. If the roads suffer from congestion, find a way to raise the price of driving for all drivers.
Efficiently transporting people who need transportation should not be punished. But driving aimlessly while waiting for a fare should be. (for taxis and ubers)
Uber has the technology to implement these kinds of policies efficiently. Taxi companies don't.
Does Uber have the *will* to implement policies that keep their drivers from being a nuisance?
Probably not. That's where regulation comes in.
1
These kinds of losses mirror a greater despair of our rapidly changing times. It is tragic that anyone reaches these depths and feels it is the only way "out", cab driver or otherwise.
3
Yellow cabs were far from perfect, but Uber is a false business model. Uber is losing money by the billions each year, which means every Uber ride you take is essentially subsidized. Don't let "surge pricing" fool you, that's how Uber competes successfully with taxis -- an artificially low price.
Because it is so robustly financed, Uber can do this for several years and drive cabs out of business. I'm all for a better business model disrupting a worse one. However, this is not a level playing field. Taxis cannot compete against an operation whose primary strategy is to lose money.
9
I drove a cab in Boston in the mid-1960s. The company provided the cab (now they charge the drivers a fee to use the vehicle, which means they start each shift in the hole). The company also provided gas and insurance (no more, at least in Boston). The drivers split the fares 50/50 with the company and could keep their tips. It was also possible for a couple of guys to lease a cab, keep it on the streets 24/7, and keep the profits.
To get a cabbie's license, and protect the public, it was required that the driver be fingerprinted and that a photo be on file at police HG.
7
So, exactly why does NYC owe taxi companies an existence? While this is obviously a tragic story, industries come and go as technology and consumer tastes evolve....why should this be any different?
8
Sad, but where is the community and charities to provide for those facing financial hardship. A loss of income is not a reason to take one's own life, and their are people facing much bigger problems such as health issues, etc.
2
I am saddened at this loss of life. Depression is a terrible illness, but can be treated. Typically the underlying cause is biological, not situational.
As a business owner for most of the past 40 years, I know that nothing lasts forever. It is unrealistic to expect that the taxi business, or any business, will stay the same for long. All of us in business should know we must adapt or go under.
I started using Uber when on a business trip to Tampa. Four taxis in a row refused to accept credit cards, claiming that their devices were broken. As a result, I switched to ride sharing. Most of my Lyft / Uber drivers are polite, pleasant to talk to and drive clean and maintained cars. I don't have to worry about being cheated with the fare. This is a markedly superior service compared to taxis. I will never go back, and have little sympathy for an industry which thought so little of its customers.
17
I like the way you wrote your comment, far better than mine, this is why I mostly read them in the NYT, however the same is far from true with other papers.
3
The Uber phenomenon is just a sign of things to come. Autonomous driving is going to eliminate many millions of jobs rendering even current Uber drivers to the ranks of the unemployed. We need to build robust social safety nets such as Medicare for all, universal basic income, free/affordable education/retraining in order to face the apocalypse that automation is going to bring. We have to fundamentally restructure the workforce such that at any time majority of the people are getting educated/reskilled. Yes, this will mean higher personal and corporate taxes for such programs but this is the only way forward.
11
A fundamental problem here is that medallions were purchased with the very reasonable expectation that the city would continue to limit the number of them, thus allowing them to hold their value.
Instead, the city decided to make medallions virtually worthless by allowing Uber and Lyft to operate- essentially, modern day gypsy cabs of the variety that medallions were supposed to prevent.
The solution here might be for medallions to be purchased back, so that those who mortgaged their entire futures to buy them can obtain relief from having been tricked by the city.
6
I am the laziest person I know. I would rather hail a cab than take out my phone and use the Uber app. I love taking cabs in New York city. They are everywhere and are clean and comfortable. I was in New York 2 weeks ago to see Hamilton. It was a Saturday matinee and when I left the theater the first thing I saw was a squad of pedal cart drivers. All of the yellow cabs were occupied. I decided to use Uber. The driver was two blocks away. It literally took him half an hour to get to me. I was going a relatively short distance and I asked the driver how he could make money when the traffic is so heavy that it takes forever to get anywhere. We got to talking and I asked him where he lived. He said he had a low rent apartment in the Bronx that he paid $2,000.00 a month for. My ride cost $10.00 and lasted about an hour from start to finish. I do not know how they can survive.
15
Why haven't Uber and Lyft been required to purchase medallions? -- were political payoffs the reason?
What made Uber and Lyft so different that they didn't have to purchase medallions? -- were political payoffs the reason?
The City of New York should reimburse all medallion holders for the decline in value of their medallions -- which is only fair because The City itself has allowed competitors to decimate those required-by-law property values.
How many more cab drivers does The City intend to "kill" before the powers-that-be make this right?
I don't care what the NYC budget looks like. The City took cab-drivers' money once. The City cannot now continue to take cab-drivers' livelihoods and lives from them.
4
Yah, that’s right. The City should guarantee the value of property that declines because its value is diminished by new technology. The medallion system doesn’t, and never did, cover anything other than a street hail - that is, stepping out on the corner and raising your hand and hoping to attract a yellow cab. So, new technology - “calling” a car in real time via an app - diminished the need for such street hails and therefore the value of a medallion - but it didn’t violate the mediallion system. Those that believed that a medallion was a god given right to 10% annual appreciation were wrong. Sorry. They believed the wrong thing - they shouldn’t be reimbursed. Neither should all the other businesses that have been disrupted by a newer, better product.
2
That taxi medallions ever rose to $1 million is insane. New York City politicians manipulated the supply and artificially drove up prices. Somebody had the NYC politicians in their pocket for medallions to have cost that much. Regulation is one thing, and a good thing, and why I take cabs and not Uber, but that was old fashioned cronyism.
4
Condolences to the Ochisor family.
Uber should never have been allowed to operate in NYC. There's an extra 25,000 vehicles a day clogging the streets of NY. The Uber drivers are clueless for destination when used, and they barely get paid minimum wage. If gas prices were $4 a gallon, Uber wouldn't even exist.
5
$4 per gallon for gasoline is in our near future.
1
Taxi cab companies really did it to themselves. In almost every city they got in bed with local governments who gave them monopoly privileges. They took advantage of those privileges to drive prices out of control without having to offer service. That also gave them no incentive to upgrade technologies. I remember living Orlando and having to wait who knows how long for a cab to show up at my house. Sometimes over an hour. Only to have this run
down Ford pull into my driveway. All that to pay 2 to 3 times what an Uber costs. Its a no brainer. Uber not only saves money it saves lives.
4
Something to remember before you hop into that cheap Uber ride.
CNN investigation: 103 Uber drivers accused of sexual assault or abuse https://cnnmon.ie/2HH9dIl via @CNNMoney
8
Uber and Lyft drivers I know say they can't earn a decent wage, no matter how many trips they get. So who is winning here? We know who's loosing.
7
In July of 2016 I stood on the corner of 84th and Madison with my luggage, hailing one cab after another to take me to JFK, in vain. Five cabs stopped, and when they heard where I wanted to go, pointed to their meter and said they were all going off the clock in half an hour. Running late for an international flight, I booked an Uber, which arrived within 10 minutes and took me to the airport without argument.
I know how expensive medallions have always been, having grown up in NYC during the 80s (when cabs would take you anywhere but Harlem). I am sorry for the despair these people are facing, but being turned down by one cab after another leaves me with little pity. Work is work, and the competition is out there. If you can't rise to the occasion, don't complain when others eat your lunch.
27
Take you any where but Harlem, Brooklyn and the South Bronx.
6
Time moves on and businesses evolve.
If the the horse and buggy people started to lobby politicians and kill themselves would we have outlawed or limited cars?
14
Like the poem about the miller who hangs himself in the mill after his job becomes obsolete. It happens.
"...He was mad at Silicon Valley and all these big shots that have billions of dollars. You’re trampling over the little guys..." ...."Small Shots" like Taxi-folks/their leaders, sociologists, mental health professionals, economists, theologians (and not Big Shot politicians) should address basic issues and solutions--such as sharing prosperity with Silicon Billionaires....
There has to be some balance between the rightful complaints of Black New Yorkers that the yellow cab service did not work for them and the obvious rape of income that Uber has perpetrated on drivers in New York. If the City does nothing, it is allowing an aggressive corporation to take it over. Compensation from Uber to the lost value of medallions and to the lost income from yellow cabs is in order. The yellow taxis had a social contract which the City broke by allowing this takeover from Uber, Lyft, and Via. The City must restore the social contract by making the corps pay. At the same time, the City has to include enforcement of equal-opportunity pickups, or some other solution that will serve the non-white population but not destroy livelihoods. That's a social contract, too.
6
I lived in NYC for a long time and I say; GOOD FOR UBER!! I hated that medallion monopoly that made it so hard to find a cab when you needed one and then shredded you on the fare. Good for UBER; a good example of how an old model has been finally knocked out and replaced with a better one. There so many times, I would wait in vain for a cab as dozens whizzed by me either not in service or occupied and then if I was going to an outerborough, they would refuse the fare. GOOD FOR UBER!!
11
"Suicide is a deeply intimate decision, and there is no way to know for certain what confluence of factors might lead someone to make such a choice."
One can say this about an individual suicide, but not about suicide rates which are affected by shifts in social economic structure and opportunities. The articles below from 2015 and 2016 describe increasing rates of suicide among males in the US. These upward trends coincide with high unemployment rates, which in turn lead to breakdown of kinship networks, and a sense that one had some control over their future. The despair, is also acted on politically frequently leading to reactionary/populist politics. In Weimer Germany, it led to National Socialism. In the US it gave us Trumpism.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/health/us-suicide-rate-surges-to-a-30...
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/death-rates-rising-for-middle-...
6
The wealthy and their journalists and politicians prefer that we blame the Russians for Trump - not the neoliberal regime that has turned the middle class into the precarious existence class.
4
I understand the importance of publishing this article, but I was wary while reading it about the lack of resources offered to those questioning the decision of suicide. Throughout my education in psychology and social work, we learned that reports or depictions of suicide should be followed by resources to prevent "copycat" suicides. As this article explained, this taxi driver is the fifth to have a suicide in what appears to be a trend, and I fear for those who read this and would try a similar route to make a statement.
If you are interested, the National Suicide Prevention hotline is 1-800-273-8255.
72
Hotlines are staffed by non-professional volunteers. They do not offer tangible resources to address underlying causes of distress. They DO, however, trace calls, involve police and often result in involuntary incarceration, quaintly called hospitalization. That, in turn leads to the loss of civil rights, trauma, increased distress and a greatly increased chance of a completed suicide.
What people need are living wages, a tolerant and accepting civil society, and the means by which to belong to it as a respected member with perceived worth.
The US has sunk to a naked predator/prey horrorscape. The unbearable situation it leaves the preyed upon results in suicides.
10
:( Have you ever called a number such as this during a crisis? I have and let me tell you about my first experience. I just wanted someone to talk to after another grand-mal seizure episode so I called 911. Why I was still talking to the nice woman, someone knocked at my door. It was 2 SPD officers who came in, took one look around my apartment to see who else was there, and then they proclaimed, "you better have a letter for all of those pot plants". I said I had a bona-fide letter from my doctor and they left me alone. I stayed up most of the night pretty shook up and finally fell asleep at 7 a.m. At 9 a.m., Seattle Narcotics agents started pounding on my door to check out my "grow-operation". They seemed pretty upset to have been called out once they saw that my bedroom operation was legitimate and small. And they left.
5
People don't start committing suicide as a way to "make a statement"... Sounds well-meaning but short on true understanding.
And if the default action is to trace numbers in order to call the cops?... I call that reprehensible.
4
This is the truly awful result of technological change that finds newer digital-based business models like Uber replacing older ride services like taxis. The tragic suicide of Mr. Ochisor is a call to government to take action that helps those caught in the technological revolution that is displacing workers nation-wide. Companies like Uber and Lyft must take some responsibility as should the taxicab industry as well by paying into a fund, perhaps like workers compensation, that maintains a displaced workers income while retraining them for a new job that pays as well or better. We need a national Displaced Workers Compensation and Job Retraining Act. In the meantime, Mayor de Blasio can help by pioneering such a program in New York. It can be the way we pay our last respects to Mr. Ochisor and others who've paid with their lives for the rapid pace of change.
3
When I lived in NY, I would often stand outside after a night out for up to 30 min, desperately trying to hail cabs. I’d wander from corner to corner, avenue to street, with no luck. If I ever wanted to go to Brooklyn or Queens- good luck!
I have sympathy for taxi drivers, but not much sympathy for their ossified, inefficient industry.
21
I would be happy to support the taxi industry if their technology had kept up with the times. If there was a way to instantly hire a taxi from an app or by calling a phone number I would happily do it. However there is no such option, and as the article mentions it is very difficult to find cabs roaming the streets in the outer boroughs.
11
The principle is simple: taxi drivers deserve to make an honest wage. It should not be treated as a gig side hustle by predatory tech companies like Uber and Lyft. The city or state needs to step in and require Uber and Lyft to treat their employees as such and stop pretending they are contract employees, who function as scabs making the equivalent of minimum wage. Make them pay SS and Medicare taxes and unemployment insurance. Help them organize for a living wage and access to affordable health insurance. Then see how successful they'll be or if all their fake progressive customers still take them at that price.
The Uber/Lyft scam works on a pyramid scheme, with billions of capital going out to unprofitable companies on the hope that all the traditional taxis will be put out of business and they can then sharply raise prices. Even now they still have to severely undercut labor and their drivers burn out in less than a year. Transportation has always been a marginal business. If something seems to good to be true, it probably is.
9
I'm no expert on the subject matter of suicide, but I don't believe the act of taking one's own life can be tied neatly with a bow by 'blaming' a ride-sharing app. It's a much more complex subject matter. Further, while there may be a correlation, one cannot say there is causation.
4
Sad story and I do feel bad for the family. However the taxicab business was a government created racket that actively discriminated against minorities and refused to service the outer boroughs. They aren't entitled to be in existence forever. Many Americans have lost their jobs at steel plants, coal mines, auto factories etc. I'm not sure why NYC cabbies should be any different.
28
I don't want to use Uber. I want a driver who is bonded.
17
A solution might be to limit Uber and other ride hailing companies to boroughs where there is no reliable public transportation and let cabs take over New York City proper.
Uber could pick up passengers o the way back out to the borough.
4
Put in historical context, were there similar suicides among Pony Express riders after completion of the transcontinental railroad?
6
As a handicapped person I say Uber and Lyft are godsends. I can stay inside and wait for the car , rather than trying to flag down a cab in the street while sitting in my wheelchair trying to raise my hand , competing with able bodied customers who push in front of me .
Yellow cabs could have come with the ride hailing system themselves. Technology changes. Amazon put some brick and mortar stores out of business. You can’t stop progress . Sorry for the cabbies losses . And for this mans life . Cabbies have had a monopoly for ages. I’m glad that’s been stopped.
20
Suicide is awful, which is why it is very dangerous to start chanting "Uber did it." Many people still do not understand there is almost never a single external cause for suicide. Please do not set this important education back. Ignorance helps no one.
20
Competition, is what it is.
Not Uber.
Competition is freedom.
Do you like freedom?
I am a board-certified psychiatrist.
Think for yourself?
1
This is a very sad situation for the family, but to blame Uber is ridiculous, there is no causal connection. Not only that but only about 3% of the medallions are owned individually, and, driverless cars have been talked about for years, which will probably impact professional drivers in the future.
5
Statistics show that towns that have Uber have less drunk driving injuries and deaths .
5
When I lived in NYC in the '90s I supplemented my income selling books and music as a street vendor, which was legal. Today, you'll get a ticket and have your goods confiscated. So much for the First Amendment. Meanwhile, anyone with a car (many from out of town) can now clog up city streets and run rampant like a band of gypsies. Most lack the training to drive in a city like New York, and probably don't have adequate insurance to cover for any injuries to passengers. If the city wants to curb ride sharing, it should be addressing the pitiful state of public transportation. Why not do what Bogota, Colombia has done with buses and close some streets during rush hour for rapid transit? Uber and Lyft are not the solution, but add to congestion and actually send many millions of dollars out of the local economy. If they can't be banned, they should be heavily regulated.
102
Indeed, NYC MTA bus transportation is in the dark ages. 99% of bus lines are NOT SBS or 'express', and where pre-boarding is enabled. So what that means is that, at one bus stop after another after another, passengers already on the bus must sit there, while new passengers board through the front door, one by one by one, each putting their card into the fare machine, waiting for it to be spit back out. Etc. Repeat this at some stops, for up to 25 new passengers, and then at dozens of stops along a given bus route, and it's enough to make riders bang their heads against the wall.
All over the rest of the 'developed world', they have bus systems where you pre-pay, and then everyone boards all at once, thru ALL DOORS, and then the bus is on its merry way.
And in a place like NYC, we need to disincent so many PRIVATE VEHICLES clogging our roads, and often with just one passenger in the (often SUV) vehicle. We have such drivers double-parking in our streets, taking up spots in front of MTA bus stops, etc.! Where is the DOT? Where are the police?...the city planners?...the MTA??
It's an absolute disgrace.
11
Undoubtedly back in the early years of the last century, there was equal desperation among those who'd made a decent living in the horse-drawn transportation industry. Probably a few suicides, if not lots of them. Much disruption, much hand-wringing. And so it goes. People who kill themselves have a problem that goes beyond whatever you see on the exterior.
2
I was recently in London and the plentiful cabs, the knowledge, education and articulate speech of the drivers, their courtesy and trustworthiness were a pleasure to experience. We never had to wait more than 90 seconds or so to hail an on-duty car. The rates were quite reasonable, too. And as the NYT has reported, the drivers have to complete an extremely rigorous course of study and exam to earn their credentials. It's a profession.
If American cabbies conducted themselves and their business that way, there would be no Uber.
28
You speak for me, too, Kosher Dill. The traditional black London cabs are like riding in a limo, with the added attraction of articulate and friendly drivers. But don't stop there -- the Tube is a revelation after the befouled, dilapitdated NYC subway.
8
London has Uber. I use it all the time there.
1
There is zero oversight in this area , just drive around in the city and you will see the glut of T plates , they are very easy to spot. The plates start with a large letter T. They choke the streets with traffic and create a pollution nightmare. No one is regulating how many livery drivers there can be. It's always about votes and the endless corruption of the NYC Democratic Party .
2
That medallion scheme sounds like a scam. It's completely out of touch with reality. They should scrap it.
What's to stop a Yellow cab signing up for Uber or Lyft and picking up fares that way?
6
Why not have Uber and Lyft pay for traffic congestion fees instead of penalizing the general public with congestion fees? Maybe charge each Uber and Lyft a monthly fee for trafficking the streets of midtown Manhattan???
1
Uber has exposed the fact that the highly controlled, corrupt taxi mafia is unsustainable unless it's a monopoly. To attack Uber for that is insane. If De Blasio wants to do some kind of liberal left-wing magic solution, he should expropriate all the taxis, eliminate the medallion system completely, set up a support fund for the drivers to transition out of the system quickly, and hand the taxis for free to their drivers so they can immediately go out and compete fairly in the new reality. Why punish the tens of thousands of people succeeding and supporting themselves, and giving people a service they prefer? Because some bureaucrats and mafiosos will have to do something else for a living?
7
Personally, I cannot understand why Uber (and its related entities) was ever allowed to operate in either New York or anywhere else in America. Uber and it’s greedy shareholders are really thieves. The Uber business model thrives by robbing the poor and the powerless. These “gig” operations not only destroy workers - they destroy the community. Time has come to enact laws that specifically outlaw so called “gig” employment models. The cost of their doing business in our communities it far too high.
104
When a ride to the airport in a yellow cab costs $50 and costs $20 on Uber, what's there to not understand? As a customer it's not my responsibility to ensure that people who have paid millions for medallions are adequately compensated. I don't care about Uber or it's greedy shareholders, I care about getting a cheaper ride.
25
Unfortunately, the gig drivers will vanish soon enough, because of driverless vehicles.
2
You should care about Uber and it's greedy shareholders. The ride is only cheap *now* because it is heavily subsidized by those shareholders. After they've driven out the medallion competitors, they will raise the price. When that formerly $50 cab ride is $70 and Uber is the only game in town, what will you do?
1
Money paid for those medallions needs to be refunded to the people who bought them.
5
Uber in New York City is also bad for people just trying to get on and off buses, especially the elderly. New York City likes to tout that all its buses are 100% accessible, with kneeling steps. Unfortunately, many of these buses can no longer get to the curb at bus stops and have to dump (or pick up) passengers in the middle of the street because idling Uber cars are in the bus stops. There is a bigger drop between bus stairs and street when the bus has to stop in the middle of the street, it is more difficult to get on and off, and people getting off have to be careful they don't get run over by traffic coming along the side of the bus.
A lot of the problem in midtown Manhattan, at least what I have observed (and photographed and sent to MTA) involves tourists. They often have no idea where they are or where they are supposed to be in terms of the Uber pickup. You see them giggling and consulting their phones and waving to a driver across the street -- the driver sitting in the bus stop at 42d and 3rd and preventing 4 buses from pulling into the curb for a proper stop.
When I have complained to the MTA they say Uber drivers aren't allowed to do this and I should call the police and they will ticket the Uber driver. But by the time the police show up for a low priority issue like this, it's over. But it's happening every day, inconveniencing and trying the patience of many people and needlessly adding to the stress of city life.
13
Uber is absolutely displacing yellow cabs and causing financial stress to cab drivers. However, the right policy here is not to try and eliminate Ubers or create artificial barriers to car service to make a yellow cab financially feasible; rather the policy that we should demand one that seeks to help cab drivers displaced by innovation and competition, either by focusing on the economics of cab ownership (why should individuals own the cab and medallion they drive, couldn’t they just be employed by the city?) or by transitioning cab drivers into different careers.
Conflating congestion with the impact of ride-hailing services on cab drivers does a disservice to New Yorkers. They are different problems, and we shouldn’t let congestion be used as a proxy to try and limit ride-hailing services by the taxi industry. If we want to address congestion, solutions should be considered that impact all drivers, professional and private, who enter the city streets. Just because an Uber might be the newest car on the block doesn’t mean that a congestion solution should be targeted exclusively at Ubers.
3
I had hoped that ride sharing services would provide a less expensive form of transportation especially for the elderly. Sadly, I was wrong. In Buffalo, NY taking Uber is more expensive than a traditional taxi and varies by time of day. The Uber drivers are treated very poorly by the company.
Having to download yet another app with access to my bank account is also a concern. You can't even have a pizza delivered anymore without an app.
The technology that was supposed to save us is leaving us broke and demoralized.
7
In our capitalist society, the trashing of unneeded older workers, is just another example of our lack of any real interest in recycling.
Every system has its flaws - decent treatment of the individual, is the basic flaw of capitalism.
If anyone doubts that, just consider that the percentage of unionized workers in this country has been declining for a long time.
11
It is very tough for cabbies (and cab companies) to compete against companies providing the same service for (except for "peak" hours) less money and arriving (generally) in a flash. How do Uber et al do it? Easy. They don't pay the drivers. They don't buy the vehicles (or maintain them). And, most importantly, the price the service they provide below cost in an effort to seek monopoly (or oligopoly) power. They can do so because their cash comes from wealthy pre-public investors.
We used to regulate the number of cars for hire (medallions, which exist to reduce congestion and regulate). And below cost pricing used to violate the Sherman Act. The rich make the rules these days. Taxi drivers? Forget about them. Disruption is all that matters, so long as the rich get richer!
15
In Europe and Israel, taxis have their own apps (such as Gett) which work perfectly well. If American cab drivers are lagging behind technological progress, who is to blame? Who prevents them from developing alternative apps and competing with Uber or Lyft directly instead of trying to ban the more convenient ride-sharing services?
6
My heart breaks for anybody who struggles become so overwhelming that suicide appears to be a viable option. But, the yellow cabs in this city brought about their own downfall. The drivers went all in with leadership who were uncompromising. I use public transit as much as possible, but I have had to use cabs in my 40 years in the city. Issues that the yellow cabs themselves caused include:
* refusing rides: living in Queens, I have been rejected by many drivers (which is illegal), often times with insults, which doesn't happen with ride share (I'm not even touching on the open bigotry I have seen)
* not servicing/actively hurting the outer boroughs: they actively blocked the green cabs from being licensed in area the yellow cabs REFUSED to serve (leaving us with no legal options). Try getting out from work after midnight in 1999 on College Pt Blvd and waiting 45 minutes for a bus or illegal taxi
* refusing mobile hailing technology
* customer service: the level of rude behavior, poorly maintained cars, and other issues is far lower in ride shares
* lack of self-policing: I have taken yellow cabs from the airport and tourist areas, and they have often tried to scam me by taking circuitous routes that a non-NYer would have not caught - widespread complaints are ignored
* acting like a monopoly: fair hikes without rider consideration, relaxing of the requirements (such as a basic knowledge of the city), and other recent policies only hurt themselves more
33
I’m sorry for this man and his family, but competition in general can be a good thing. The downside of Uber is increased traffic congestion in NYC, but for the customer, a big upside is not having to be subjected to a rude taxi driver whose driving can oftentimes be downright dangerous.
6
The time has come to even out the playing field. That means tax, regulate and unionize Uber. There should be a minimum charges for Uber rides which are at least $50. This would help the poor cabbies on at least a meager living.
5
The question is not whether Uber's service is better or worse than original taxi services. The introduction of disruptive technologies should be slowed down by regulation, no matter whether this will negatively impact disruptive entrepreneurs and investors. In addition, 25 days paid leave per year for every American would help to reduce pressure on jobs and salaries. With regard to automation, everyone should work less hours per week. Thats the only way to transform into a more healthy society and also damps discruption.
3
25 days paid leave, ahh to live in civilized Europe. Most Americans are lucky to get 2 weeks vacation.
3
This is a very unfortunate story. However, the suggestion that the solution to the personal misfortune of taxi drivers is that the city should use regulation to undermine a better service that people clearly prefer is pretty ridiculous.
The city should offer medallion buy-backs from owners and phase out the medallion system, it’s a relic of another time which we don’t need anymore. De Blasio trying to prop up the value of taxi medallions makes as much sense as Trump trying to prop up coal mining. It's going to be a difficult transition, but this is progress and it has to happen.
25
I am constantly amazed how people in the US fail to take responsibility for their actions and always seem to blame someone else for their misfortune.
And the press always falls for it....
6
Ride-selling drivers have flooded San Francisco's streets. Half of those I've encountered spoke almost no English and were unable to understand my directions, such as "please turn right at the next intersection". Since they don't live in SF they have no idea where they're going and are constantly looking at their phones instead of the road. They stop wherever they want to, rarely pulling over, impeding traffic and endangering pedestrians. Since we seem to have no more police in most areas, they do all this with impunity. I've returned to taking cabs.
16
I take Uber in both SF and NY and the situation in NY is quite different as all NY Uber cars / drivers have to be licensed. I rarely if ever get a driver in NY who does not speak English or know the city well. SF is terrible, however, although I blame this largely on economic conditions and lack of investment in public transit. Many people people from the East Bay have no work. (Let's not dive into the question of the fact that nearly all the individuals involved are immigrants - begging many questions about them coming here only to do jobs Americans won't do....) They come into SF where there is no public transportation and where walking in neighborhoods like SOMA is a freak show. I don't find cabs here much better, however.
Good for you, Kathy, and all the best of luck with taxi drivers. The very first day I moved to US, I was ripped off by a taxi driver in LA, who was taking me from the airport to downtown. Sure thing he knew the road, but what about charging regular city rate instead of airport commute rate? Receipts?... he never heard of... + unfortunately the card machine was broken (I was supposed to tell him I pay with a card before taking a trip). Same thing - Miami, Calgary, SF, NY. Also don't forget hefty tips for the impeccable service and sterile cars offered by the cabbies - they certainly care about their reputation more than Uber/Lyft drivers. Another driver was about to start a fight when I refused to play by his rules and leave him a blank taxi chit (very nice way to end the evening). I also find the directions provided by Waze/Google maps more effective than trying to predict heavy traffic/accident in the area you "know well".
1
I forgot to add what a nuisance ride-sellers are to the bus drivers. I travel mostly via public transportation and have noticed how often the buses are held up by or have to honk at selfish and/or clueless drivers hogging the road. The buses have cameras that catch cars idling in bus stops and I hope they're also able to penalize the ride-sellers who get in their way. On an average day, we have 40,000 extra vehicles in the city. Enough.
4
"We really have to decide what kind of a world we want, one where people can make decent living by driving, or Uber's vision where that doesn't exist anymore."
This isn't "Uber's vision." Quite simply, it's where the automobile industry has been headed for most of the 21st century. If anything, it's Google's vision more than any other company's, and Google / Alphabet / Waymo is far more likely to be standing at the end than any other entity, let alone one so deep in the fiscal hole as Uber.
It's also been upwards of 40 years since most taxi drivers in the U.S. made a "decent living" off their job, particularly in NYC. Even *before* Uber entered the picture -- and as has been extensively documented by The Times over the years -- an average (non-medallion-owner) cabbie netted an average of less than $25K/year despite working 50-60 hours per week at minimum. The taxi stats are just as dismal on a nationwide basis -- and again, none of it was or is Uber's doing. What the paper failed to do in this instance was to clarify just how much of an outlier Mr. Ochisor represented vis-a-vis other taxi drivers. The number of individually owned-and-operated NYC taxi medallions is, and has long been (meaning pre-Uber), at a historical low: IIRC it's currently around 3% (at *most*).
I suppose one could wist away for the "traditional" world of human-driven taxis, but at this stage it seems as pointless as wishing for a return of the days of horse-drawn carriages.
5
It seems the blame lies on whoever allowed the prices for medallions to become so artificially inflated, not on Uber for recognizing an opening.
8
It is pretty clear to me that rather than try to limit an obviously better system consisting primarily of Uber and other mobile-phone-friendly transportation options, the city should refund a large portion of the medallion costs to individuals and companies that purchased them under the perfectly reasonable assumption that they conferred a state-sanctioned protection of sorts.
It is one thing to be out-competed in the open market, it's another thing entirely to trust the state, and expressly pre-pay the state for a service it no longer effectively provides.
10
You mean the price of willingly and knowingly joining a monopoly and cartel?
1
Legally, nothing has changed. Yellow Cabs are the only service that can legally pick up customers who hail them from the street. NYC has always had a less regulated “black car” market that allows a car to be contracted in advance by phone or internet.
Uber has simply made that contracting process much more fast and efficient.
1
First of all, my condolences to this poor family.
The city is going to have to find a compensation mode and buy back the licenses, which are now worthless. It is inevitable and Montreal (where I reside) is in talks with taxi associations to do just that.
Of course riders will pay for it with a surcharge on each ride.
7
I can understand why this family would tend to blame an outside influence for their loss.
On the other hand, an Uber driver did not force him to take his own life.
We need to start accepting responsibility for our own actions and not cast blame on people, places or things outside of us.
14
I have it admit it's also really jarring to see so many posts talking about how much people "love Uber" (I confess; I do too!) on a post about a man's suicide, one of many, in response to crushing economic circumstances outside of his present control, or even his prediction decades ago. The economic and social value of Uber doesn't obviate the human toll taken by economic disruption. "I love Uber" sounds cruel in this context, and misses the point. We can both have better transit AND take better care of our people.
11
The cab companies resisted the convenience & technology of uber & lyft and has a business model requiring ridiculous up front costs of medallions. They didn’t even try to update & compete. There’s no knowing these folks’ genetics or life experiences to judge the cause of their suicides. Causation & correlation are not the same.
8
This or any other death is tragic, but if blacksmiths had taken their own lives because of the rise of the automobile, it would be unfair to blame the automotive industry.
19
It is sad to hear Mr. Ochisor's took his own life. In coming to terms with the phenomenon of ride sharing services such as Uber, it is essential the Taxi and Limousine Commission institute changes that would make yellow cabs more competitive and relevant in the current market. For decades it has been ridiculous that yellow cab drivers are tied to specific shifts and the shifts all end and begin at the same time during rush hours. So when a cab is needed during rush hour, it is all the more difficult to get. Beyond that, for decades yellow cab drivers would refuse to transport passengers who were either going to the airport or outer boroughs. This is illegal but was never enforceable. No complaint to the TLC ever lead to action against a NYC cab driver about refusing to pick up passengers who wanted to go somewhere the driver didn't want to go. Now people have an alternative that solves the problems New Yorkers had with yellow taxi's. While I'm not opposed some regulation of Uber and other car sharing services, there should also be regulation that puts yellow cabs on the streets when they are needed. And why not create a system where yellow cabs can be summoned through mobile devices as easily as Uber cars are requested. The bottom line is that transportation in NYC has improved because of online apps for ride sharing services. The TLC needs to step up its game and bring yellow cabs into the current age making them more convenient and affordable.
13
And easier solution would be to impose a tax of $50-$100 on each Uber ride. That money could be used for the benefit of all.
2
Sorry, but when I tried to hail a cab in Midtown Saturday night @ roughly 10.30pm I counted at least 30 cabs with their lights on meaning they are off duty, I also counted the number of Uber/Lyft cars available. After waiting nearly 20 minutes I took Lyft. There is a reason why people are reverting to hired cars. These cabbies can blame Bloomie he vowed to get rid of the TLC.
18
I generally don't have nearly as much problem hailing a yellow cab in Manhattan,where I live.
This is a Democratic town, with a Democratic mayor and governor. And yet we live in an ugly city with an everyman-for-himself culture. We watch the collapse of public transportation, the clogging of our streets, people driving and selling whatever they can get away with wherever they can do it - with lawsuits lasting forever challenging any challenges. Where is the reasonable regulation? Tell me. My heart bleeds for this man's family, and everyone like him.
10
So the TLC, with tis cartel and monopoly is "reasonable regulation"?
1
Exactly , the city council should be abolished to a five man alderperson council. The livery cab industry is completely out of control but so is the overbuilding. Where will this all lead I think in the end won't be good
I am very sorry this poor fellow chose to take his life, but progress is tough on established ways of doing things. A century ago, stable owners faced a similar challenge from horseless carriages, but should the number of cars have been limited to protect them?
However it would be humane to find a way to forgive some of the debt medallion owners face, now that a better idea has come along.
4
There are taxi hailing apps like Curb or Grab that give the functionality and ease of use that you find using Uber or Lyft.
2
The taxi model is irreparably broken. Limiting the number of cabs to a small fraction of the demand was a huge mistake.
The cab drivers themselves were often nasty, smoked in the cab & refused to take credit cards. Many of the medallions were owned by investors. The drivers had no skin in the game financially & would never face any consequences for poor or rude service.
Hailing a cab by phone was a joke if you needed the cab to pick you up outside the downtown area. The dispatcher had no idea when or even if the cab would show up.
Lastly, the taxi meter made it too tempting to take the longer route or intentionally get lost to run up the meter for a higher fare.
If taxis had adopted Uber's technology and the government had ended the medallion system, Uber would haver never come into existence.
But Uber is less expensive than taxis because of the exploitation of drivers and the scam of misclassification of drivers as independent business owners.
If Mr. Ochisor was not getting any fares, rathing than taking a permanent solution to a temporary problem, why not consider painting his cab and switching to Uber? And simply stop making payments on a worthless medallion.
I suggest people read Andrew Yang's book "The War on Normal People" because due to robotics and automation the concept of working for a living is going away over the next 50 years.
What happens when we all are in Mr. Ochisor's situation? Just like buggy whip maker, the job of "driver" will no longer exist.
4
People are still underwater on their mortgages. Coal miners will be out of a job one day in the not-so-distant future. Millions were lost in the last stock market crash.
Times change. Technology changes. Robots replace workers and nurse practitioners replace doctors. Some investments do poorly. People lose money.
I am sorry this unfortunate soul took his own life, but connecting that to the rise of Uber is irresponsible.
27
Uber is artificially cutting the costs of its rides in two ways with the specific goal of undermining existing taxi services and mass transit so they can be put out of business.
Uber charges only half the cost of a trip to customers, the other half is paid by venture capitalists. The only reason they have to do that is put the competition out of business where they'll then raise the cost of a ride to its actual price plus tidy profit to pay back their investors.
Second, most Uber drivers last only a year and only drive about ten hours a week. Uber depends on this constant turnover because no one can drive for Uber and make a living, they don't pay enough. Uber pays so little that there's almost no money left after gas, insurance and maintenance.
These two actions artificially lower the cost of a ride and creates an unfair marketplace for regular taxi drivers & mass transit who cannot do the same things.
Of course Uber plans to eliminate its drivers by releasing autonomous vehicles, something they'll do as soon as they create a model that doesn't kill people. We really have to decide what kind of a world we want, one where people can make decent living by driving, or Uber's vision where that doesn't exist anymore. Certainly their vision will lead to mass congestion on the roadways and far more hardship for existing drivers.
6
I remain amazed that such elaborate half-truths and falsehoods about Uber -- nearly all of which have been propagated by taxi-industry propagandists -- continue to maintain such currency despite having been shot down so often in the past. Just to recap:
1. Yes, taxi service has been decimated by the entrance of Uber and Lyft into the marketplace. No, this doesn't make its decline Uber's fault. The taxi business started declining nearly 40 years ago, after what had long been a fixed-pay business was deregulated on a national level. The end result until quite recently was enriching taxi medallion and taxi permit owners at the substantial expense of everyone driving a cab without any personal equity invested in it. C'mon, people: do you really think Trump's "fixed" Michael Cohen invested in scores of medallions out of the goodness of his own heart?
2. While Uber and Lyft can, and arguably should, increase their fares -- if only to provide drivers with a better standard of living -- that's also not the same thing as them proferring "artificially cheap" fares. If anything, the best way for taxis to compete with Uber & Lyft would be for them to similarly eliminate the middleman.
3. It's just plain silly to argue taxi franchises won't eliminate drivers as soon as realistically possible. (It's also silly to argue over the hypothetical of Uber moving to a fully autonomous platform - something which is many years away, even if Uber manages to steer clear of shoals.)
5
Good - even cheaper, safer, & more reliable transportation. I’m done paying more & being inconvenienced to save some job for someone else. The days of me sacrificing for people that vote against theirs and everyone else’s interests are over.
2
For us straphangers, we look on with fascination at the horrific traffic patterns on the Manhattan grid. The black cars are totally out-of-control, which is not to say the Yellow Cabs are any better, but the proliferation of Uber / Lyft has created a total cluster (seemingly, always) on Manhattan streets. They need to impose a cap on black cars (or cars generally). Nobody from the "outer boroughs" are hiring Uber / Lyft cars into the City everyday --if they had that kind of money, they'd live in Manhattan.
6
Why focus on regulating ride sharing -- a clearly superior approach to providing car transport? Technological change always has winners and losers. We give trade adjustment assistance to those who are hurt by trade agreements. We should compensate taxi owners for the loss of the value of their medallions in the same spirit. Put a small tax on ride sharing to pay for it (if gains are big winners should be able to compensate losers so everyone is at least as well off). Makes much more sense than holding back a breakthrough technology.
6
Will you say that when your industry is disrupted by an app the circumvents local oversight and regulation?
3
A question. Before UBER, If a taxi company wanted to start a tech based and “regulatory-lite” service like UBER would it have been legal?
1
This is a very sad story, but to some degree the taxi community is to blame for not holding themselves to a higher standard when they had no competition. In some ways, buying a medallion is like buying a franchise with a “brand” identity, but the NYC cab experience is not cheap and often terrible, with dirty cars, drivers who don’t know their way around or take you a longer way (perhaps on purpose), and are constantly complaining about their jobs. Twice I filed complaints with the TLC when taxis refused to take me to Brooklyn, both times the drivers fabricated stories and the TLC “judges” believed the drivers instead of me, despite their highly improbable accounts. I haven’t used Uber, but I have had many excellent experiences with Lyft, and I think driver accountability plays a big role in keeping quality high.
10
What a deeply irresponsible article. With the exception of one obligatory paragraph that pays lip service to the complicated and varied reasons that people kill themselves, the rest of the piece explicitly and implicitly pushes the theory that the expansion of ride services like Uber is responsible for this poor man's death--and for the suicides of other taxi drivers. No data on city-wide suicides. Nothing about whether the percentage of cab-driver suicides is higher than that of other high-stress occupations. No interviews with psychiatrists. Just a bunch of tendentious links that would earn one a poor grade in a high-school journalism course.
49
Ever hear of qualitative research?
1
Let’s get real here - this is not a “ride service” - this exploits desperation and poverty. Just like there is no free lunch - there is no cheap ride, either. You, as a taxpayer pick up the tab for increased education costs, nutrition programs, welfare asssistance, ER rooms, Medicaid and increased food stamp costs. In this instance, someone who paid his share of taxes was replaced by a gig worker using welfare, rent vouchers, food stamps and Medicaid! Hooray for competition??????
3
For a topic like this, in a major newspaper, "qualitative" doesn't cut it.
And even if it did, "qualitative research" is not done by making the poor man's family your primary source.
Here's what I don't get: NYC and other cities said you can't drive unless you buy an incredibly expensive medallion. Then they changed their minds and let Uber and Lyft drivers come in for free. So why don't they REFUND the money taxi drivers spent buying medallions? Why haven't the taxi drivers sued to get their capital back? What am I missing? It seems totally unfair.
28
That’s not accurate. Yellow Cabs are the only service that can legally pick up customers who hail them from the street. NYC has always had a less regulated “black car” market that allows a car to be contracted in advance by phone or internet.
Uber has simply made that contracting process much more fast and efficient.
3
So, this man owned a government license for 30 years and could have sold it for a $1 million, but instead made a choice to borrow against it. And New York times is suggesting (between the every line of this article) that my choices should be limited because technology changes the world?! Sorry about the bad trade, but it is his bad trade.
If this is representative of NYT reporting and analysis, perhaps I am making a mistake being a subscriber. And for any politicians that maybe reading this - I live in NY and I do vote.
18
And even if he borrowed against it, where is the money?
It sounds like there are other bad trades. They may even explain this story.
1
This is not a case of technology changing the world - instead it is a case of a multi billion dollar start up with the fu do to hire shark lawyers to ignore any and all laws or use it’s financial power to have laws written that would enable this monster to operate. You seriously believe Uber and it’s offspring are giving you choice? Guess again! You cant choose what portion of your increased taxes you will have to pay because Uber put these cab drivers out of business. How many Uber drivers are on welfare? Use Medicaid? Use rent vouchers? If you are in a car accident while using Uber or Lyft, how are your medical costs covered? I think it comes out of your pocket.
3
Everyone’s hearts clearly go out to those affected. However, as an African-American man, I could recount dozens of times that yellow cabs passed me by, just to stop 100 feet past me for someone of a different background. With me in a suit or even a tuxedo. Every single black person who hasn’t tried to take cabs in NYC can tell the same story. It’s so bad the the head of then NAACP went on television to defend Uber.
Let’s face it - yellow cabs were easy to “disrupt” because they were a racket offering an awful service, often tinged with all sorts of discrimination. This is why no one wants the yellow cab app - it’s too late now. Do not blame the public when we are offered something so clearly superior and decide to take it.
338
I am a white female when I hailed a cab and told the driver I needed to get to Brooklyn he sped off. It's happened more times than I care to mention here.
42
I am a white man and was astonished when a cab drove right past a well dressed African American man (as if he was invisible) who was several feet in front of me on the street.
When the cab stopped for me, I told the African American guy that it was his ride and he was equally surprised.
I do feel badly for the cab drivers but they truly acted as the monopoly they were.
40
It's true - the yellow cabs needed a good kick, and this was probably due in large part to bad regulation. That does not justify the current situation.
16
Ok, this might be dumb, but why don’t they sign up with Uber & pay off the medallion that way?
4
I feel sorry for the gentleman and his family mentioned in the article but I can recall "the good olde days" when if you were black or hispanic, there was no way in this world you would get a yellow cab to stop for you. These yellow cab owners felt they were above the non-discriminatory laws and that the citizens of this metropolis needed them because they were part of a city hall subsidized monopoly. I dont know what De Blasio is thinking, but I personally feel the city needs not protect these people any longer. Let the market takes its course and let them find other avenues of employment.
17
This is crazy. The Ochisors made a disastrous decision to invest in a traditional taxi medallion, exactly the wrong thing to do, and literally worked themselves to death. How can anyone blame Uber for this? Oh, right, because Uber drivers can choose when to work and when to sleep.
5
And these Uber workers can choose what and how much taxes they will pay, too. You will pick up the tab for increased welfare costs - and you will not have any choice. If you become injured while riding in an Uber car, then what? Medallions had to carry insurance - these are, in reality “gypsey” cabs that take credit cards - if they could not pay their insurance too bad for you. Enjoy all your “choices”.
3
It's important to remember when you hear some glib technocrat talking about how their new technology will "disrupt" a current industry, that "disrupt" has a negative connotation for a reason. These technologies don't just disrupt, they destroy lives and livelihoods. Driver-less cars are coming next. Expect many, many more suicides.
4
Http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/30/technology/Uber-driver-sexual-assault/in...
Maybe Uber should be regulated.
4
The Millennials have changed our economy with their accumulated Student Loan Debt and their penchant for living on the cheap. Uber, Lift, airbnb are perfect examples of how they survive.
And we are starting to see the fallout from how they live. What the Taxi Industry has encountered is just one of their negative effects. Because most can't afford automobiles, they're having their food delivered, boxed prefix meals they can prepare at home-so much for going grocery shopping. Grubhub gets them their pizzas and burgers delivered. Furniture via Wayfair. They're home-bound, tied to their e-devices.
And they have to rent. Most will never own a home.
Bernie Sanders popularity was all about his promising to get rid of Millennials loan debt and getting them free state college tuition. He was their 'one trick pony'.
The Millennials and how they've affected our culture will be studied for years. And they need to watch out. They're about to be pushed aside by the Parkland High School generation who are showing them how its done, how to get off your butt and do something. And because of how proactive this new generation is, the Millennials will be reduced to a cultural 'speed bump.'
3
As a Millennial myself, while I'm not the biggest fan of my peers, but I think you are being a little unfair. We don't WANT to live on the cheap, but we have to because many of us were entering the workforce at the height of the recession which means we will likely earn less money over our lifetimes. We didn't WANT to take loan debt, but we grew up believing we needed to go to college and loans were the way to do accomplish that. Although I agree with your point about being tied up at home on the internet all the time, I can't stand it, no one ever wants to do anything. But I do think we are kind of a worthless generation. I just wish I grew up before online dating was a thing. Online dating is literally the worse.
1
You are blaming a generation of people for living a certain way because they're poorer than their parents were at their age? That seems a bit odd.
2
Sad, but probably better off financially than majority of Americans and overwhelming number of Romanians today.
NYC , taxi and limousine commission and New York city police department taxi garage owners cab drivers all responsible this problem. I am driving yellow cab almost ten years, tlc and nypd sees immigrant cab drivers a cash cow every complaints get punished guilty or not . i seen cab drivers pulled over by nypd everyday uber driver told me has no summons since left yellow cab. City guilty of put limit of yellow cab medallion Garage owner sucked blood out of cab drivers before uber they charged maximum fees to drivers .Now they can't find drivers. they instead lowering cab leasing prices, park cabs on the streets or ports also our equipment out of date we need better app.Cab drivers guilty of selecting passengers or destination
41
Uber is to the taxi service what Bangladesh is the high end clothing industry.
It is a business decision and people don't matter. The nation sets up an expensive "medallion" system that puts people in hock for years, and then allows a person to come along, "rent" their car out part time FOR NO FEE and steal business away from the medallion owner---that is hardly fair in any sense of the word. What did people do before UBER? What did we do before iphones? we keep making excuses to the things that make living worse than before, because we don't consider the IMPACT of technology or anything else. Make UBER driver pay the lowest value of a medallion and then move forward. See how many drivers are keen on paying 300K for the pleasure of being a "cabbie"
3
You ask "What did people do before UBER? What did we do before iphones? " As a person of a certain, ahem, advanced age I can tell you what I do now. I am completely comfortable going out at night, meeting friends, going to performances because I know that later on I will be able to get a car within a minute or two to drive me home safely. No waiting for a bus with dicey people hanging around; no ridiculous standing on a street corner, waving frantically that anything that remotely resembled a cab... and being ignored, while those same dicey people watch and wait. Oh and that iPhone you wonder about? My new watch allows me to not only call Uber or Lyft, but also to call for help if I need it at the press of a button if I am on the street in the middle of nowhere. So for many of us, the new technologies have made our lives safer and more enjoyable. I will not argue that the technology costs, and I am lucky that I can afford what I have, but you throw the baby out with the bathwater if you dismiss technology so cavalierly.
1
A man took his life due to the overwhelming despair and desperation he felt, yet so many comments focus on taxi cab experiences vs. Uber experiences. My gosh, where is the compassion for this man and his loved ones?
Apparently I am in the minority here, but I am deeply sadden by the fact that his man faced his darkest moments and total helplessness prior to taking his life. Having a long history of being a suicide counselor as well as going down a very similar road as Mr. Ochisor, I can appreciate that unique deep darkness he faced as well as the immense pain and loss his family is experiencing.
Deepest condolences to the family and friends of Nicanor Ochisor. I am so sorry that he felt suicide was the last and final option available to him.
155
In Paris many taxis simultaneously also operate as Uber and Lyft. What's the difference? The ride-sharing fare is almost half of the taxi fare. And you don't have to guess when a taxi is going to show up — although taxis can often be found at traditional stands.
Although I hate Uber management, I use the service all the time. I always ask the drivers if they their work. Almost all who say they've been doing it for over six months say they do, that they love the flexibility, being able to chose their own hours, and not having a boss. They also tell me they make a good living if they work taxi driver hours and know how to work the system.
The taxi industry and drivers, particularly in San Francisco, have nobody but themselves to blame for the stunning popularity of ride-sharing services. For if you weren't in a financial district or at the airport, you couldn't get a ride for your life. Try and get a taxi to take you to the Sunset. Right! And that's if you're a white guy like me. If you're a person or couple of color, even if well-dressed or professional, you were usually ignored. San Francisco taxis were the worst managed and run business I've ever seen in my life.
I feel sorry for the family of the taxi driver who took his life, but it wasn't because of Uber.
5
Excuse me...wasn't Paris the city that had the arrogant taxi drivers vandalize and burn the Uber cars because they felt threatened?
Has anything changed?
1
We cannot blame Uber for this tragic death. We can certainly regulate Uber for reasons other than the loss of value of taxi medallions, such as traffic congestion; however, the regulation must not favor one business over another. Competition is the cornerstone of our economic system. A taxi medallion is an investment, just like buying a house, a business, or stocks. There is a risk inherent in these activities, including loss of value. With the advent of the automobile, very few predicted the decline of the railroad as a popular mode of transportation. Railroad companies saw themselves as being part of the railroad business instead of the transportation business, and they paid the price.
5
More and more Americans are forced into desperate situations by a “survival of the fittest” culture that demonizes working people and professes that money is only for the rich.
The rich will never have enough, and protection from their selfishness and greed is one of the main purposes of government.
Unfortunately, they now own the government and make the rules.
13
I thought the point of government was national defense and to guarantee your God-given rights. Since when has nature ever given the right of “fairness?”
I’m sorry but it is not the job of our government, at least as it was founded, to guarantee fairness in life.
It sounds like this driver and his wife made some bad financial decisions. They made bets that didn’t pay off the way they had hoped and I truly feel bad for them.
I agree that it is unfair that government isn’t bailing them out though. Bankers and people in the financial industry made bad bets in the 2000s and they should’ve had the same consequences: bankruptcy and hardship, not public bailouts. I am a firm believer in private risk, private reward and public risk, public reward. I can’t stand the notion of public risk, private reward.
If that taxi driver’s financial bet had paid off better do you think now he be willingly giving away half his money to help other people who made bad bets?
Read the Preamble. The government is supposed to be us, not a bunch of grifting billionaires.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. . . "
The article ends in praising Uber for their availability to give Uber the air on acceptance, but this is not the case. There are yellow apps now that can be used and be as fast as Uber, BUT, because everyone is using Uber they don't get a chance to do much business, so Uber does not escape blame by being available!
2
Uber’s computer app for summoning cars is great. The taxi exchanges should have something similar. But aside from that Uber exploits its naive drivers, pure and simple.
3
uber drivers should have to put up the same insurance and cost as taxi drivers. that levels the playing field. The state set up a very expensive system to become a taxi driver and then UNDERCUT them by allowing anyone with a car and an iphone and 20 cents worth of computer code to displace them. THAT IS HARDLY FAIR. But then we know government has nothing to do with fairness and honor--they are all bought and paid for by big business. VOTE them all out.
1
It is tragic when someone commits suicide due to economic insecurity. Having bought a taxi medallion about 30 years ago this gentleman must have made a phenomenal profit on his investment. The problem is that he did not cash out in time. The medallion was an investment not a guraranteed annuity. There is no doubt that many owners of individual medallions who are driving now or leasing out their medallion are working harder and earning less and have seen the value of their investment in a taxi medallion shrink markedly.
We should not be picking winners and losers and distort our economy to protect incomes in particular industries. If we do then the additional taxes and fees that are collected to protect a particular grooup that lobbies the hardest for itself will burden the rest of us.
7
In related news, California just demolished Uber's claim that their drivers are "independent" contractors. Looks like society is getting wise to the fiction that is the 'gig' economy.
18
Industries change.
Many classically trained surgeons have retired or stopped doing many procedures when new, less invasive surgical techniques became the standard.
Uber and Lyft are, in most situations, a better service.
6
I feel so bad for the Yellow Cab drivers. Also, it is really affecting the credit unions that help finance the medallions. I have a friend running a medallion-based credit union and he shows so much solidarity for the Yellow Cab drivers.
So, time before last, coming home from JFK, to show some solidarity with him, I took a Yellow Cab home here to Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The driver asked if it was okay if he went the fastest (least traffic) way home (not necessarily the shortest). I said, ok. Well, it probably was the fastest but it wasn't the cheapest. I paid over $50, and I got into a friendly discussion with the driver about the fare amount; he explained to me he had to wait 2 hours in line at JFK just to pick someone up so I let it drop.
Well, the last two times I've come back from JFK, I've reverted to Uber. So much better! Cleaner cabs, no "bandit barriers" between the front and back seats. Also I do Uber Pool, which means ride-sharing. I had a much more sociable experience (drivers could speak good English, for example) and the fare? Last time it was $17.40. Tip optional. Since I was ride sharing, it is also greener than a Yellow Cab, meaning better for the environment since only one instead of two cars were used to get people home.
In Mexico, which I visit, Uber has made things much safer. It is dangerous in Mexico to just hail a street cab. But with Uber, you know it's safer because the driver has a rating and you know who they are.
119
I'm glad that I no longer have to wait a half an hour to hail a cab whenever it's raining, or when there's a shift change. I'm also glad that I no longer get an eye roll and an audible sigh when I tell a cabbie I'm going to Brooklyn. Uber fixed a problem that NYC ignored for years.
92
While completely sympathetic to the individuals involved imposing restrictions on Uber is going to stop innovation and cause inconvenience for lot of customers and passengers as many of the posts here indicate. Unfortunate thing is investing in a Taxi Medallion was an investment betting on the artificial scarcity of such. There was a nice revenue stream for the city council by controlling those medallions and no wonder they are eager to impose more restrictions on ride share services. But the investment has gone bad with newer disruptive service and it can't be rolled back. In addition in 5-10 years autonomous driving will be around and even Uber model might be disrupted. There are lots of instances where folks lost their investments due to disruption and we cannot hold back innovation based on those losses.
19
I don't live in NYC but my impression is that the service provided by the medallion taxis was pretty poor. One can certainly see why there would be customer demand for a service like Uber's.
But if the law was that you could not provide taxi services in NYC without a medallion... How did Uber ever get started providing exactly that? And if what Uber is doing is legal, aren't the folks who bought medallions owed their medallion fee back?
7
This is like people in Trump country waiting for coal to make a comeback, you can't stop technology the world is moving forward and people need to find ways to deal with this. Jobs are being lost to technology and while this is hard to deal with it's a fight the Taxi industry can't win. There's an entire generation that's glued to their phone and don't want to stand out in the cold/rain/sun to find a cab. Their want to see their drivers rating, their want to give feedback, Uber is basically part of the vocabulary at this point taking a cab is already a last option.
24
As an out-of-towner visiting New York City yearly, I don’t know how many times I had taxi drivers at LaGuardia try to take me the longest route into the city. It was only due to my knowledge of the shortest route and demand that they take this route that they would change course.
The fixed, upfront fees of Uber and Lyft offer peace of mind especially when traffic is bad. I don’t miss the many times my blood pressure and heart rate would increase as I watched the meter run up as we stood still in traffic.
How can I forget? Uber and Lyft cars also tend to be much cleaner than taxis. They are rating system has much to do with this. I hate to say it, taxis are just an outmoded way of transportation these days.
Let’s get better public transportation to reduce the congestion and car exhaust Then maybe it would be possible to limit the number of cars like Paris and London to help clean up the air.
57
My deepest empathy to Gabriel and Helen on your loss. My father hanged himself when I fifteen and every time I read about another similar death, my heart aches for the sadness you are feeling. I wish I were closer but I am sending love and tenderest thoughts to you both and the rest of your family. When I am in the city I always look for a yellow cab and I shall continue to do so.
75
I do not agree "there is a growing sense that something should be done." Perhaps that is the view in the mayor's office or among the taxi owners who contribute to his campaign.
An artificial monopoly for yellow cabs with poor service and shortages was a problem, and "there was a growing sense that something should be done," and happily Uber did something. Now my 80-year old parents can actually enjoy visiting the city with some chance of finding a ride if it rains or if they happen to be out near rush hour. That was never the case before. One solution would simply be to get rid of the concept of state-sanctioned taxi medallions.
62
Agree 100%. As a POC who still lives & grew up in Brooklyn since 1980, no way will I agree w/a cap on "Ride App", like Uber. I have Juno & made sure 15yr old has it on her phone. The Yellow Cab Industry created the space for competition.
BTW, Yellow Cabs are the only Industry where the Government has protected their monopoly for far too long. Competition is good!!
14
Your 80 year old parents couldn’t get a ride without you using the incomprehensible (to them) phone app to call it.
1
The real elephant in the room beyond the tried-and-true conversation about the ultimate societal merits of "ridesharing" apps and the inevitable self-destruction of the medallion bubble: America has *no* solution to the problem of what to do with a worker when the labor they perform becomes obsolete by technology, policy, or vagaries of the time. For whatever reason, America is allergic to systemic solutions to systemic problems.
If a robust social safety net were in place—universal basic income, full employment programs—it's possible Mr. Ochisor would be alive today. Why live in a hopeless world?
122
While I agree about workers who's jobs become obsolete, that might not be the case here. I'm sure Gabriel's knowledge of the city and driving skill would have been relevant and valuable if he worked for Uber. The problem is that Gabriel invested in a government-sponsored monopoly (medallions), and the government allowed that monopoly to collapse, wiping out his investment.
If he could recover his initial investment in the medallion and buy himself a car, I'll bet he could make as good a living as anyone else driving for Uber of Lyft.
9
Unfortunately, working for Uber/Lyft may conceivably be a substantive downgrade in real income for someone like Mr. Ochisor, though I know there have been challenges to this analysis: https://slate.com/technology/2018/03/uber-lyft-drivers-median-wage-minim...
Nevertheless, in a way, the solution I think would be both moral and efficacious is a variant of your own—that while the government should improve the social safety net generally, it certainly should in the case we outline, wherein it was governmental policy regarding the medallions and then allowing the mass devaluation of the medallion that caused this dire predicament for someone who, near as we know, played the game fair as it was written and made an honest living. Thus the government should be playing an active role in solving this problem it created.
E.g., that this could take the form of some kind of government support for managing debt made from medallions, at the very least medallions that people did not further borrow upon.
The original sin is that the city sold monopoly privileges in the form of medallions. The purpose of politics is not to protect monopoly privilege, nor is it to sell off "some exclusivity."
If the politicians want to protect the interests of taxi drivers who invested in medallions, it can reimburse driver-owners for the full cost of the mediallions. But most medallions are owned by corporate entities that hold dozens and hundreds of mediallions--not by hard-working Romanian immigrants. And de Blasio should not protect the monopoly power of corporate interests.
This story seems oblivious to the economic realities of the taxi industry in NYC.
32
The City should buy back the medallions. The City created this problem by issuing Medallions and letting their prices soar and crash ruining lives. It’s the Medallions that are killing people, not Uber. If the City bought back the Medallions, from which they’ve earned enormous profits, taxi drivers could compete with or join Uber.
14
Should the city buy them back at the original cost, the current market price, or the higher market price that existed before Uber entered the market?
1
Yellow Cabs are the only service that can legally pick up customers who hail them from the street. NYC has always had a less regulated “black car” market that allows a car to be contracted in advance by phone or internet.
Uber has simply made that contracting process much more fast and efficient. It’s not the taxpayers’ responsibility to cover the loss due to a better competitor.
1
What if it is the city's action that is making the competitor less competitive? The limited supply of medallions business model was created out of whole cloth by the city. Taxis are not inherently less competitive, they are stuck in a government paradigm that Uber is not. They could update their contact software and become competitive in the time it takes to develop an app if the city would let them.
Anytime there’s a Taxi vs. Uber article, inevitably the comments sections ager filled with “well it’s just competition and free market capitalism”. On the surface that makes sense, but if you look just a little deeper there’s a fundamental flaw in that argument – it’s not anything close to a fair competition. Taxi companies are burdened with the most basic of business needs, they need to make a profit to survive. Uber, with its worth derived from valuations and with the silicon mantra of “grow first, make money later” is free from the need to stay consistently profitable to stay alive. Uber lost over 3 billion dollars last year. Uber’s primary worth is on the profit it might make. It’s like if you have a basketball game and one team is required to make points all game but the other team is just given points for baskets they might make in the 4th quarter. Just something to keep in mind, because Uber it often touted out as an example of a virtue derived from free market capitalism, but it might be its nadir.
10
To add to what you're saying, it's also the fact that taxis have a much higher regulatory burden than Uber; they have to buy medallions, and Uber drivers do not.
4
My deepest sympathies to the Ochisor family. Suicide is the symptom of a multi-faceted social problem usually including depression. Economic distress can be a factor, but it is not the sole cause.
Uber is not to blame for the horrifically bad service at unreasonably high prices that I have experienced in NYC. Similar service has existed in Las Vegas. If there had been good service at reasonable prices Uber could not exist, would not exist.
20
Creative destruction. Ain't it grand?
1
Worked out pretty good for you. Or perhaps you'd prefer to still be using Morse Code over a telegraph line?
1
Your assumption is predicated upon a false dichotomy.
Uber is not about the workers. Folks need to know this before signing on.
9
Get Uber and Lyft out of this city now. These companies are responsible for people killing themselves, and they're still here?
Uber, Lyft, et al are criminal enterprises.
They are no more legitimate than if I bought a bunch of stuff cheaply somewhere say that fell off a truck and opened up a stand next to a drug store and started filling prescriptions at prices below the wholesale prices the pharmacy owners pay.
Sure its a good deal.
These ride hailing apps were conceived of and created to get into the very lucrative livery services while avoiding the regulation, supervision, price setting, and other costs that honest livery services have. I assure you that like Bezos book seller model, once they kill 99% of the taxi business in the country they will start building brick and mortar livery services and the magical oh so enlightened propaganda about "ride sharing" which is not a real thing since anyone sharing a ride is not charging you, will evaporate like the smoke that it is. Sharing a cab is not the same thing as sharing a ride.
6
This is not a good analogy. Maybe more like they developed their own medicine. But to make the analogy work you’d also have to add that the “ legit stuff” was often thrown at customers by rude staff and that the staff also wouldn’t serve them at all if they were the “wrong” color or wanted medicine that was time consuming to package.
And FYI. It’s not always about a “ deal”. Often my Uber costs about what my taxi did. But the service is on the whole vastly superior. Once you’ve experienced that it’s very hard to go back.
2
Taking advantage of a poorly run regulatory system is not a valid excuse fro a criminal enterprise.
They have not "invented" anything new they simply put existing technology, instant messaging and GPS to a new use.
They could still have made many millions and probably helped the regulatory system work better if they had been honest and just worked on licensing their dispatching system to existing cab companies. The existing companies could have expanded and so on.
No they chose to destroy an entire industry and scoop up as much money as they could without regard for the harm they would do.
Criminal Enterprise.
1
My condolences to this family; the grief they are experiencing must be overwhelming. With that said, I am surprised at how people forget: Uber and Lyft got really popular in communities of color (especially Black ones) very early! Why? With the app doing all the work drivers couldn't claim they didn't know where you were going and that you would stiff them for the money. Therefore, professional and hard working Black folk could get rides without the ugliness of being passed by in the street day and night. Yellow taxis disrespected COC for years so it's hard for me to work up tears about the industry as whole.
29
The crisis in the yellow taxi industry is a direct result of the deal they made with the city and state long ago to protect their investment: the cap on the number of medallions. The yellow taxi industry has brought this on itself. The medallion cap. Their refusal to serve the outer boroughs. When Mayor Bloomberg created the "green" cabs the yellow cabs moaned. The inability to get a yellow can around 4:00 PM shift change. I don't agree with all of the ride sharing app industry's tactics or business policies, but they have filled a need for New Yorkers that the yellow cab industry was unwilling to.
68
While my deepest sympathies go out to this grieving family , the following needs to be said . The days of yellow cabs before Uber went something like this . Watching in vain with your hand raised for as long as 20 minutes in the freezing cold as dozens cabs drove by , many empty some seemingly gleeful of their off duty sign . Watching the cab pull away when you told them you needed to go to an outer borough . Getting routed the "long" way to jack the meter . The uncomfortable sneer when you didn't tip enough or at all . For an industry so concerned with survival , it sure didn't seem like it when it would abuse its customers in the comfort of their cushy monopoly . As with the way of retail, stores , if you don't adapt to the needs of your customers the free market will do it for you . No I don't root for the demise of this industry but make an effort to compete on a service level at the very least .
197
I was 9 months pregnant with huge shopping bags and kicked out of the cab because I was headed to Brooklyn. I loved cabbies so many years ago but things like my situation were common.
17
My only quibble with your post: I live in another borough of NYC there is nothing remotely "outer" about Brooklyn
:-)!
1
Clinical depression is the cause of suicide, not a car ride service. I have great empathy for anyone coping with a suicide in the family, but many people suffer through economic desperation in their lives. Depression can make it an inescapable abyss without successful treatment. It would be misleading to suggest otherwise.
34
Funny -- when the persons suffering through economic desperation are white working class Americans in flyover country (like coal miners or steel workers)....they are told to toughen up, and go back to college (even in their 50s!) and get a STEM job and relocate to a big blue coastal city with lots of jobs. When it is a minority cab driver in NYC....we are expected to weep for his lost job and lifestyle.
1
Just to note, the subject of this article was Romanian (i.e., white/European) not a "minority".
I’m not sympathetic to yellow cabs - their business model and customer service are really poor. I recently got in the taxi from the airport and had to give the driver directions and he was aggressive when I wanted to use a credit card. I’ve had many bad experiences using the yellow taxis, but have had pretty good experiences using the uber app - no waiting , no having to wait form them to process credit cards, sign a piece of paper, etc. Perhaps the yellow cab drivers should update their business model instead of whining and complaining that they are losing out on business.
50
The problem is the medallion system. The only fair solution is gonna be expensive, though: the city has to admit that the medallions were a mistake, and then buy them back at some pre-Uber/Lyft price.
Sometimes regulations are good, but sometimes they're bad.
5
I sadly understand why these drivers are so desperate and depressed. I feel like I am singlehandedly supporting the cab drivers of Chicago. I am of the age that I grew up with cabs.
I like the fact that there are boundaries and insurance and the drivers know where they are driving. The uber maps in Chicago don't work. Some uber cars are dirty and very small.
But we are in an anti-immigrant time sadly in this country. These folks who have worked hard over the years to pay off their medallions find it is worth nothing, so all those years of work, nothing. The new generations have no respect for cabs they just want to order everything over their phones. So it isn't Mayor Emmanuel's brother owning part of Uber, it is a technology change that is a permanent one. The almost hate stance by Trump of immigrants doesn't help either. We are in a hate atmosphere, survival of the fittest times, sadly, in my opinion all due to Trump and the GOP.
The only positive for cabs in Chicago is that Uber has continued to jack their rates during surge time so cabs are cheaper. So I think it is possible for some cabs to make it if they are strategic. I ,also, think cabs can be a tourist draw in downtown areas of cities and need to encouraged to stay.
I get in a cab and some of these guys are really depressed and tell me I am their first fare in hours in Chicago. A cab is still far better than Uber or Lyft to get around downtown Chicago, they know where they are going.
8
I rode in cabs in Chicago for 15 years. Every day. Twice a day or more. At least half the time if it wasn’t a well known spot the driver needed directions or needlessly went out of his way ( to jack up cost?). Uber is better.
4
EC17: I went to college for 5 years (5 year program, not failure to graduate on time) and had a 3.2 average and graduated into the worst recession of modern times (1980). Plus "stagflation" and interest rates of 22% on a home mortgage! then 30 years later....my profession was largely obsoleted by new technology and the internet. I had to zig and zag to make a living while salaries in this general field fell, even in inflation adjusted dollars. Nobody wept for me. Nobody wept for my colleagues, some of whom had to take menial jobs (home health aide, retail sales) or retire early or go on welfare. We were told to buck up and adapt or go back to college for a new career -- at 50 -- with a family to support and when the cost for a new degree was $60K in NON DISCHARGEABLE debt. And of course, we all know how eager employers are to hire a 55 year old with a new degree. I got no sympathy, so frankly I am fresh out of tears and empathy too.
2
I feel indeed sorry for Mr. Ochinosor, he lost, in the course of economic and technological change, all his personal economic fortune. On the other side, the taxi business in this country is so dysfunctional and riddled with rent seekers, aided by flawed regulatory oversight which neglects the actual protection and well being of the users of the system, that is wasn’t really difficult for „new economy“ ride sharing businesses to crack the taxi legacy economy. I travel a lot in the US, so why are taxis usually worn out, beaten up, dirty, with non-functional drivers who often don’t know to get to any destinations except the most popular vantage points ? (And you have to say, nationwide, the New York City taxi system is probably the best system in the country, and Mr. Ochinosor may have been one of the rare exceptions in the business). Not long ago, I had to pick up my visitors always personally at the airport, because a NYC cabdriver is usually not able to find a street destination by himself outside of Manhattan - what is so difficult in getting a GPS, or using a phone, they have been around now for about 15 years (maybe the problem is that most drivers have difficulties in putting in a correct destination address). With all the negative ramifications of their business, Uber etc. removed those problems and created a previously unattainable customer experience. The question is now, how long will that hold on, once Uber etc. removed its lowly street based competitors ?
7
Why did he lose his economic fortune though? He wasn't one of the unlucky ones who bought at the top of the market to secure a livelihood only to watch his investment decline in value--he bought his medallion when it was still comparably inexpensive.
Something is missing from this story.
7
Technological change hurts. For every Mark Zuckerberg, there are 100,000 who lose their jobs and don't make zillions. Mr. Ochinosor is like the buggy whip maker or farrier who made a living out of servicing horses....just as the automobile came on the scene. This article expresses great pity for Mr. Ochinosor and his fate, but zero pity/sympathy for the tens of thousands obsoleted by technology or offshoring of manufacturing jobs! Those "deplorables" are told to buck up, go back to college and get a STEM degree....then move across country to a Big Blue City with lots of jobs. Well, Mr. Ochinosor lived in NYC -- can't get bigger or bluer than that -- why didn't HE just go out and get one of those swell jobs that exist in Big Blue Cities?
1
Uber not only adds to NYC congestion, but their super aggressive and distracted driving habits make yellow cab drivers look polite. They park for free on residential streets in my neighborhood even though they are really a commercial fleet. Now with talk of NYC considering residential parking permits, will they continue to get a free ride?
8
I don't live in NYC, but Uber is an awful company. I can't believe so many people I know take it. It was run by a vile CEO, who created a horrific company culture. The company also has cheated in trying and get rid of Lyft. They are wrong on so many levels, yet people just mindlessly sign up for them. Quit being sheep. Lyft isn't perfect, but at least they're not Uber.
5
Rather than placing restrictions on Uber and Lyft, NYC should lift the archaic regulations that yellow cabs do face. The medallion is an outdated concept that needs to be abolished.
23
My father was a cab driver. he drove a cab in NYC for 50 years. It was a hard life, he worked 7 days a week 12 hours a day. If he got sick and couldn't drive, no money came in, if the cab broke down, he was out of work till the cab could get back on the road. every time he got a little ahead, saved a few dollars, something would happen to knock him back to square one. He had no retirement plan other than social security, dental payments came out of pocket. He went to work every day, because it was the only way he could keep on top of his bills. the job itself is a tough one, sitting all day, being jounced by potholes, cutoff by bad drivers, sitting in endless traffic, dealing with cab inspectors, dealing with all kinds of weather, always on alert for something happening in the road, like a bus suddenly swerving into your lane. It's a tough job but a very necessary one, especially when its cold, or late at night, or when your a tourist, or had too many drinks. I have a job, where, I have a 401k plan, profit sharing, good medical benefits, including 1500 a year for dental, and a pension plan. My father had to work for 50 years because he had none of that, no vacation days, no sick days. cab drivers need a Union, and they need better benefits, they do a job for this city, and its time this city took care of them, by making sure they have sick days, vacation days and medical. Those are people in those cabs, hard working people lets treat them as such.
172
Thomaspaine17: I have a lot of respect for those people in society who labor long hours at jobs with no glory or fame or money....but which we all need done. I do wonder why you dad -- apparently living in an American utopia of the 20th century -- never sought out any education or career change in FIFTY years. Maybe he actually liked driving? I have no idea. At least he was able to make a better life for you, his son. BTW: nothing stops cab drivers from unionizing, not in blue blue blue NYC, and yet they never have done so. Why? they could have literally paralyzed the city before Uber.
4
My dad was a world war 2 vet, and I always wished he had used the GI bill to go to college, but things were different then, people married much younger,he got married and he had to get a job. Today is the age of college and career, those days, the wives didn't work, and the man was responsible for supporting the family. It was a different time. I really don't know why the taxi union is so weak, I don't think it ever even existed when my dad was driving, at least he never talked about it. the yellow cab drivers probably like the freedom aspect of the job, but they had so little benefits, that it was a precarious life.
The cabbies supply a real service for the city without any city benefits, it is a very advantageous system for the City, I feel the city took advantage of the cabbies.
Hats off to your Dad. I'd rather ride with a real cabbie any day of the week, because they know how to get around the city.
7
RE: Mr. Ochisor had also worried about having to buy a new wheelchair-accessible vehicle — part of a city mandate
If taxis have to be wheelchair accessible than so should Uber, Lyft etc
Impose THAT requirement and watch Uber drivers disappear
103
Uber and Lyft already have an option for wheelchair accessible cars
1
An option is not a requirement.
No one is entitled to an investment with a 10x return, or even a million dollar retirement these days.
Further, caps are what got us here. Constrain supply and give it to a monopoly, and watch what happens when the service provider (talking about taxis at large here) feels absolutely no obligation to do a good job.
15
Well said , they hurt their customers for too long .
3
Nobody is entitled to a million dollar retirement? Then you agree WITH ME that public school teachers should not benefit from a taxpayer-paid $3 million retirement 15 years before every other worker in society?
1
Yes, absolutely. Public sector unions are a scourge.
As a partially disabled 83 year old I fear a doctor's appointment in bad weather...no cabs available. After theater...no cabs available. Empty cabs ask where I want to go and may say "NO" and drive off. The lobby that limited the number of cabs helped UBER. Medallions never should have reached a million dollars by an artificial scarcity. Now that lobby wants to return to the good old days where the customer comes second. Traffic congestion is a problem but not the fault of uber or cabs. Better bus and subway service as well as higher cost of bringing cars into Manhattan would help.
277
As a guy from Queens who has heard the "Sorry, I am just getting off shift" schtick far too often, I learned a good trick is to get in the cab and *then* tell them where you are going.
25
B,
Apparently you never had hailed a cab where the doors are locked and are only unlocked allowing you to get in after you tell the driver where you want to go. Perhaps it doesn't happen in Queens but it sure does in Manhattan.
1
NYC is responsible for creating the medallion bubble that both inflated the value while also providing cab service for Manhattan only. The borough cabs were a good idea, but way too late. NYC's transportation woes are frustrating to watch.
16
Let me see if I can piece together the big picture for New York taxis.
To operate a taxi in New York, you need the government's permission, which you get by purchasing a "medallion". These are transferable, scarce, and expensive.
Uber allows you to do the same thing without a medallion, rendering the medallions less valuable. If you bought one, counting on the value you would get from this government-sponsored monopoly, Uber has found a way to transfer wealth from your portfolio to themselves. It isn't that their cars are more efficient; they just don't need medallions.
The government of New York can do one of two things: they can declare Uber a taxi service, and require that they too buy medallions. This will raise the price of Uber to that of the taxis, leveling the playing field.
The government can give up on the medallions, by either not requiring them, or by issuing many more of them. This will wipe out the value of the investment that the government insisted that the taxi drivers purchase for the right to operate a taxi in New York.
Someone's ox is going to get gored here, and the government of New York gets to choose.
34
I feel sorry for this family's loss but Uber is not to blame for it.
Every time there is a business that's in competition for your dollar someone is going to loose some business, that's a free market which is what this country is.
Competition is the way of the world.
This family needs help and they should seek out counseling.
12
But the number of taxis is capped and the number of Uber vehicles is not, resulting in the latter far outnumbering the former. That doesn't sound like a proper free market to me. Furthermore, the son's point that a taxi medallion once came with some promise of exclusivity (along with its hefty price) is an important one, as that exclusivity has been stripped away by this new paradigm. These are structural, city-regulated issues that destroy any ability to effectively compete.
8
You and the son might not like it but that is a free market and all businesses have to fight every day to stay alive.
Sue Uber.
1
I am sympathetic to this family and sorry for their loss.
I also very much support the regulation of for-hire vehicles in NYC, and always take yellow cabs. I've never in my life used Uber.
However, something about this story confuses me. This driver bought his medallion 30 years ago for a price similar to its current value. I understand that if we account for inflation, it has actually lost value, but even if purchased with borrowed money, it has presumably been paid off by now.
So the problem seems to be that they borrowed against it when it was worth a million dollars. Because everyone else was doing the same. And presumably they no longer have this borrowed money.
In that sense, they are much like the Americans who gambled on housing during the bubble and lost. Key word being "gambled".
The "little guys" will always have more to lose at the get-rich-quick casino.
50
You fail to realize that the price of the medallion in 1989 might have been $180,000 but at some point maybe 15 years later it rose to $700,000 or so.
The CARTEL economy at work...perhaps the owner should have sold it when the going was good.
1
I don't fail to realize that--in fact the article itself states it was over $1 million at one point.
It's sad that Mr. Ochisor didn't cash in while the going was good, but he had no reason to lose any money either, since he didn't pay those high prices. And he did benefit from a monopoly to run his taxi for 25 years before Uber.
I can't help but notice that the fundraising site never mentions that he didn't actually buy the medallion for one million. It is dishonest and misleading.
I'm sure lots of hard-working americans would also love to crowdsource their retirement at 60!
I have mixed thoughts on this. While, I feel the pain of the taxi drivers, I also remember when it was very difficult to get a cab to stop for you - they were either already occupied or just drove past you for a better fare. I also once got into a taxi at the airport and before we got out of the airport, he got a dispatch for a larger fare, so he turned around and dumped me back at the taxi pick up stand at the airport and drove off. So I kind of feel the taxi drivers, while they had a monopoly, were not serving the public as well as they could have done.
146
Sorry, but this could not have happened in NYC. NYC cabs are not radio dispatched. The regulations of NYC cabs would not permit this - however, I could definitely see this happening with ride sharing apps that are under no such regulatory scrutiny.
3
I'm a believer in free enterprise, but I also believe we all would be far better off, nationally, regionally, and locally, if the American electorate's addiction to motor vehicles had been broken decades ago in favor of improved public transportation.
We might now be enjoying the kind of clean, streamlined 21st century long distance rail, metros, and bus lines that other advanced nations do, instead of the wheezing, exhausted, infrequent, broken down apparatus most of us have to deal with if we choose public transport.
67
Although a tragic story, according to the story, the family bought their medallion in 1989 for $180,000. Surely the 3 decades had given them plenty of time to pay off that investment? The harsh reality is that a job for life no longer exists.
21
New York City and many many other local governments have allowed and encouraged monopolies of the taxi business thru heavy regulations. There is no reason why number of taxis in any place should be limited. Let the free market determine the prices. Public safety can be maintained by just background check and registration of taxi drivers.
It's sad when anyone commits suicide for any reason, but let's not blame Uber or free market for what ails the taxi drivers.
5
The thing is, Uber is not a free market operator. Each and every Uber ride you take is heavily subsidized by investors, resulting in you paying far less than the actual cost of the ride. It is not a free market and it is not a level playing field. The suicides of taxi drivers are clearly the result of Uber's (and other ride hailing app companies) predatory practices.
4
I have zero sympathy for the yellow taxi's, who have had a death grip on this city for decades. You can never get one in the at the end of the work day since that is when they change shifts, their taxi's are dirty and smelly, as are most of the drivers.
I love UBER!
72
I support taxi drivers wherever I can, taking cabs in LA and NYC when I am there. But in both cities recently I had taxi drivers who did not know where to go or how to get there, and in NYC the driver when the wrong way for about five minutes (uptown instead of downtown) before I asked him if he was going the right way--and this despite our being on numbered streets! Cab drivers need to know the city and be updated with better training and in-cab map programs so that they can actually get where the passenger needs to go and provide a service as good as Uber or Lyft (which are also significantly less expensive).
26
Uber and Lyft drivers are certainly no friend to cyclists. In areas of Los Angeles they have undeniably increased congestion, and with eyes/hands on their cellphones, checking traffic or setting up their next gig, they are undeniably the least-attentive drivers on the road.
Yes, road cyclists have always needed to be on the lookout for inattentive drivers. There are a lot more of them now, and most have a Lyft or Uber decal in the window.
13
I deleted my Uber app when their (original) CEO was revealed to be a tyrannical jerk. I've been Lyft-only for more than a year, now.
Cabs in my area stopped accepting anything short of an "airport run" when I called them as of a few years ago. I started using their competition, very reluctantly. With rare exception, Lyft has been very effective for me for business and personal runs here and in other cities, too. This includes airport runs (here and elsewhere.)
Taxi medallions were always very expensive in Boston, too (per newspaper articles) and there were/are a very limited number of cabs.
It's unfortunate that the changes in this industry are traumatizing individual lives and families. I don't see cabs/medallions rebounding, and municipal governments should refrain from further meddling in this industry.
Almost every Lyft driver I meet has another job (or more than one) and they're working to supplement their income and sustain themselves and their families. That's the sort of zeal and commitment we should encourage.
53
Greg - Actually, what we should encourage is primary jobs that pay enough so that people don't have to supplement them to sustain themselves and their families.
21
This is the tip of the iceberg. Just wait til self driving cars and trucks put millions of drivers out of jobs in the coming decades. We as a society need to figure out a way to deal with this.
31
We deal with this by having drivers find something else to do. Driverless cars and trucks will mean fewer accidents and lower insurance premiums for us all. No more speeding redlight runners would be a blessing!
8
The story of tech millionaires like Mike Bloomberg's advisor Bradley Tusk is a few already advantaged people making fortunes out of taking away the livelihood that immigrant families have used for generations. It is disgusting and tragic, and I realize that many people have no impulse to resist it. Don't uber, use your local car service!
5
Another disoriented post, naive to the core, that substitutes "social good for the disadvantaged immigrants" for control of greedy medallion owners/cartels.
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I thought free enterprise was what this country was built on? If someone builds a better mousetrap and it sells better and is less expensive but does the same job as the existing mousetrap how is is the inventors fault that people prefer it over the original?
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Because we all play by an existing set of rules, as in sports, that serve to shape the game and let natural talent and ingenuity drive success. Companies like Uber (or Airbnb) have figured out ways to use technology as an excuse to essentially cheat and violate existing laws (see: “disrupt,” the current euphemism for corner-cutting cheating).
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They haven't built a better mousetrap. The rides are subsidized with investor cash.
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This isn't Uber's fault. It is the result of NYC allowing an unsustainably high medallion value at the cost of a shortage of taxis. NYC should not be creating or sustaining value in a regulated scarcity at the cost of limiting service. The cycle of limiting service to maintain high medallion prices fails to serve the public, enforces higher than needed taxi fares, opens the door to Uber and less expensive alternatives, and represents the tail wagging the dog. Issue more medallions.
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Remove the limit on the number of taxi medallions. Then the people driving cabs would increase?
Why is there a limit?
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Bicycle Bob, it’s too late for that. Uber and Lyft don’t require such an investment.
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TLC = Captured regulator. For decades, as demand went up and the "market price" of a medallion climbed, the artificial cap on medallions persisted. This bubble should never have been allowed to inflate.
People negatively affected by gov't action squeal "gov't takings"... incumbent medallion owners sat on their "gov't givings" and made political contribution to keep it thus.
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