Demand is inconsistent and could be diluted if more cabs come rushing back to the streets, they said. Many taxi owners are wary about how soon business will rebound. With drivers slow to return to work, the lack of for-hire cars has also pushed up the fares charged by ride-hailing apps like Uber that switch to so-called surge pricing when demand peaks. That has led to frustrating waits for riders, when taxis are even available. In New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and other cities, demand for taxis and ride-hail cars has rebounded sharply from pandemic lows, outpacing the return of both drivers and cars. Even before the pandemic, some taxi owners faced financial ruin after being lured into taking on reckless loans to buy medallions at artificially inflated prices. The shortage is the latest setback for an industry that has struggled amid an influx of ride-hailing services and a spate of suicides among taxi owners and for-hire drivers.
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Some 5,700 of those that are not working were taken out of service indefinitely by owners who put them into storage voluntarily and returned the license plates. That represents fewer than half of the total pool of 13,500 medallions, the city-issued permits required to operate a yellow taxi. There are about 6,000 cabs on the road currently, according to industry analysts. Now, as the city starts to recover, buoyed by low virus rates and widespread vaccinations, yellow taxis are largely missing from many street corners and airport arrival areas. Many drivers found other jobs, including driving trucks or making Amazon deliveries.
Fleet owners reduced operations or suspended them altogether. When the pandemic shut down New York, it all but wiped out the city’s taxi industry, as commuters worked from home, tourists stayed home and businesses closed. Ten minutes later, she whirled off with her suitcase in search of an Uber or Lyft. Louis, only to find herself stuck behind 40 people who were also trying to get a taxi. “I haven’t seen it like this,” said Alex Hyken, 28, who lives in Brooklyn and had just returned from visiting relatives in St. A dispatcher grimaced.įinally, a lone taxi rolled up for a waiting passenger. People scanned the road for any glimpse of yellow. There were no cabs in sight, and the grumbling was getting louder. The taxi line at La Guardia Airport had barely budged.
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