the value of a NYC tax medallion has plunged to less than 100K

[Demovictory9]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/09/us/yellow-taxi-drivers-new-york-covid/index.html

'We're on the brink of utter collapse.' Yellow cabdrivers in New York struggle to stay alive as the pandemic rages on

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Debt drives the industry

Richard bought his own medallion in 2006 for $410,000. Fifteen years later, he still owes $390,000 on it. "Thousands of drivers are feeling the same ... struggling."

Tang acquired his father's $530,000 medallion debt after his death, and today pays over $2,800 a month to his asset management firm, despite only being able to pick up a few passengers per shift.

When ride-sharing platforms such as Uber and Lyft entered the market in the early 2010s, the value of a taxi medallion plummeted.

An asset once valued at over a million dollars in 2013, medallions now go for anywhere between $75,000-$100,000, leaving drivers strapped with $450,000 in debt on average, according to Desai.

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. I know nothing about these things...

were they forced to buy them in order to stay in business or was it an investment?

[Demovictory9]

2. you must own a medallion to operate as a taxi

own or drive under someone's medallion

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. Wow, I can see them being worth 1000 dollars or something similar, but

One MILLION????? sheesh

[Demovictory9]

5. it allows the owner to operate a controlled business in NYC..only so many exist

sold like real estate

[PoliticAverse]

8. Grants of monopoly can be worth a great deal. n/t

[AleksS]

3. You had to have one on your

Cab to operate as a taxi in NYC. There were only a limited number offered by the city, ostensibly to keep cabs under control and regulated (but more likely there was some $$ and hanky panky going on. )

So, the medallions became worth a lot as demand for taxis went up and supply of medallions stayed low.

[Renew Deal]

6. Ride sharing is one problem. The pandemic is another.

It has taken many people out of the city. No more shuttling around from the one part of town to another.

[marybourg]

7. Years ago they cost $75,000 - $100,000.

And ordinary working people could manage to save up and borrow a little and buy one. Then non -driver speculators entered the market and drove up the prices. Just before the advent of non- regulated ride-hailing.

[Demovictory9]

9. awww... so they became an investment... sounds like the real estate market

I hope the drivers in the story can declare bankruptcy

[marybourg]

10. Well, they were always a kind of working-class investment

for the drivers. They could rent the cab to another driver while they were home sleeping. And it insured a good, secure, working class living. The price was commensurate with the income it could bring in. Until the non-driver speculators started buying.