by Emma Diamond
Before COVID-19, yellow taxis were an iconic symbol of New York City. However, almost a year into the pandemic, the business has decimated. Since March 2020, ridership has decreased almost 90%. An average of 3,000 yellow taxis are on the streets of New York City each day, 70% less than at the end of 2019. While some places have reopened, most people who the taxi industry previously counted on for profits are no longer reliable riders. There has been a significant decrease in tourism, the majority of office workers have not returned to their jobs in person, and most children have been out of school. Even the people who have returned to work are nervous about taking a taxi because of the risk of catching COVID-19. Taxi drivers report that they are lucky if they are able to pick up three passengers on each shift. Another contributor, although not entirely due to COVID-19, is an increase in the use of ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft. These companies were also impacted by the pandemic, but they have been able to bounce back quicker and easier than the yellow taxis have. A former city transportation predicts that this is because “taxis feel like more of a public space than an Uber car or Lyft car.” Many people believe that taxis present more of a health risk than ride-hailing apps even though this is clearly not true.
Wain Chin and Vinod Malhotra, taxi drivers who have been in the industry since the mid 1990s, have both been significantly consequenced by the pandemic. Wain Chin has not driven his taxi since COVID-19 arrived in New York City. To him, getting three riders per shift does not outweigh the risk of catching COVID-19 and spreading it to his wife and three children. According to the Executive Director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, taxi drivers were some of the first to be infected with COVID-19 when it arrived in New York City. He points to a high death rate among drivers. Vinod Malhorta, who has worked through many other New York City disasters including 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis, is now on the verge of bankruptcy due to the pandemic.
As many drivers were unable to work or on the verge of bankruptcy, they were forced to rely on government unemployment checks as their sole source of income. These checks only paid $600 a year in addition to state benefits. For someone like Wain Chin, who has three children to care for, this amount of money is not sufficient for everyday needs. When these checks stopped during the summer, some drivers who feared they or their family would get sick had no choice but to return to work.
Before the pandemic, many taxi drivers were already struggling with paying off unaffordable loans for their medallions. At the same time, taxi medallions have continued to decrease in value. What was worth over a million dollars in 2013 is now worth less than $100,000. This makes loans even more difficult to pay. Last January, a city task force proposed a $500 million relief bill to help taxi drivers pay these loans. However, when COVID-19 arrived in the city, this plan was quickly abandoned, leaving drivers in a worse financial situation than ever.
Hopefully as life begins to return to normal, the taxi industry will be able to bounce back in New York City and drivers will be able to make a sufficient living again.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/09/us/yellow-taxi-drivers-new-york-covid/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/12/nyregion/nyc-taxi-drivers-coronavirus.html