4 ms·

While clearly this is a taxi driver, 50k / year is not a lot of mileage for a taxi - I know some people who do more in a company car (I managed similar on a cou

While clearly this is a taxi driver, 50k / year is not a lot of mileage for a taxi - I know some people who do more in a company car (I managed similar on a couple of years), and some taxis are team driven, with three drivers sharing cost and shifts - indeed one I knew of years ago did about 120k a year, having several engine rebuilds, and getting over 800k before being sold. The odometer was only a 5 digit one, and I met the guy who bought it, thinking it had 125k on it, when it was actually 825k (long before the UK MOT history database was available)! Anyway, it will be interesting to see how they hold up to these sort of starship mileages...

busterarm 10y ago
Three!? Lucky. New York yellow cab drivers split 12 hour shifts and pay ~$150/driver/day just to lease a medallion.
- chillydawg 10y ago
  Less meddling in taxi regulations almost anywhere not-NYC. Medallions are a huge scam and are a very powerful market manipulation by the govt.
  - busterarm 10y ago
    Less, but not much less. There's actually an enormous amount of taxi legislation almost everywhere (in the US). There are many, many, many airports where taxi drivers have to pay a huge fee just for the privilege of picking up a fare there. In some places as high as $30-50.
    - ianferrel 10y ago
      Do you have a cite that any airport charges $50 for a taxi to pick up a fare? $30?
      - busterarm 10y ago
        MCO (Orlando International) charges taxi drivers a $50 application to apply to be able to pick up fares in their airport. Then they charge $3.15/30 minutes to wait for a fare and $2.65 per passenger pickup. This info is available through MCO and Mears (the big Orlando taxi company) and is cited in some articles about Uber & Mears competition there. A fare for a family of four going to Disney will cost nearly $15 in airport surcharge. After you've paid the $50 application. If they accept it. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-airport-uber-black-20151118-story.html http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-airport...
        ianferrel 10y ago
        So, "no", then. A one-time $50 application fee is not remotely the same thing as a $50 fare.
  - gsnedders 10y ago
    For example, in the UK (even in London!), there's no limit to how many taxi licenses can be granted, and indeed there is currently a statutory obligation to grant one to any applicant provided they meet the requirements.
    - peteretep 10y ago
      It's worth pointing out that for what most people would think of as a taxi the requirements are exceptionally onerous in the UK.
- gambiting 10y ago
  I don't think you can legally drive for more than 8 hours in the UK(as a commercial driver, you can drive your personal car for as long as you like).
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
dnautics 10y ago
I put 100k on my car in 1.5 years of driving Lyft.
ansible 10y ago
Where I live, I'll occasionally see a Police Interceptor that has been retired from the police department, then bought by a taxi company, driven for a few years, and then sold to a private owner. I can't imagine buying a used car with 500K miles on it, but people do it.
dba7dba 10y ago
starship mileages > Millenium Falcon mileage. Since starships are always getting blown up to rack up enough miles. Only Millenium Falcon keeps on flying and flying to rack up the miles. Ok enough jokes. I think this is a good thing. Taxis are generally known to be long lasting cars, which most car buyers value when selecting a car.

busterarm 10y ago

Three!? Lucky. New York yellow cab drivers split 12 hour shifts and pay ~$150/driver/day just to lease a medallion.

chillydawg 10y ago
Less meddling in taxi regulations almost anywhere not-NYC. Medallions are a huge scam and are a very powerful market manipulation by the govt.
- busterarm 10y ago
  Less, but not much less. There's actually an enormous amount of taxi legislation almost everywhere (in the US). There are many, many, many airports where taxi drivers have to pay a huge fee just for the privilege of picking up a fare there. In some places as high as $30-50.
  - ianferrel 10y ago
    Do you have a cite that any airport charges $50 for a taxi to pick up a fare? $30?
    - busterarm 10y ago
      MCO (Orlando International) charges taxi drivers a $50 application to apply to be able to pick up fares in their airport. Then they charge $3.15/30 minutes to wait for a fare and $2.65 per passenger pickup. This info is available through MCO and Mears (the big Orlando taxi company) and is cited in some articles about Uber & Mears competition there. A fare for a family of four going to Disney will cost nearly $15 in airport surcharge. After you've paid the $50 application. If they accept it. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-airport-uber-black-20151118-story.html http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-airport...
      - ianferrel 10y ago
        So, "no", then. A one-time $50 application fee is not remotely the same thing as a $50 fare.
- gsnedders 10y ago
  For example, in the UK (even in London!), there's no limit to how many taxi licenses can be granted, and indeed there is currently a statutory obligation to grant one to any applicant provided they meet the requirements.
  - peteretep 10y ago
    It's worth pointing out that for what most people would think of as a taxi the requirements are exceptionally onerous in the UK.
gambiting 10y ago
I don't think you can legally drive for more than 8 hours in the UK(as a commercial driver, you can drive your personal car for as long as you like).
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

dnautics 10y ago

I put 100k on my car in 1.5 years of driving Lyft.

ansible 10y ago

Where I live, I'll occasionally see a Police Interceptor that has been retired from the police department, then bought by a taxi company, driven for a few years, and then sold to a private owner. I can't imagine buying a used car with 500K miles on it, but people do it.

dba7dba 10y ago

starship mileages > Millenium Falcon mileage. Since starships are always getting blown up to rack up enough miles. Only Millenium Falcon keeps on flying and flying to rack up the miles. Ok enough jokes. I think this is a good thing. Taxis are generally known to be long lasting cars, which most car buyers value when selecting a car.