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There are other reasons why you'd want to limit the number of drivers. It is not good for NYC to have too many taxis, or too many Uber or Lyft drivers. There s

There are other reasons why you'd want to limit the number of drivers. It is not good for NYC to have too many taxis, or too many Uber or Lyft drivers. There should be enough, but there is a point where there are too many people driving through the streets of NYC looking to pick up riders.

gk1 9y ago
Firstly, what's "not good" about having too many taxis or Uber/Lyft drivers? I don't think people in the outer boroughs would complain. Secondly, even if there's a good reason why that's bad, it's a problem that would sort itself out. The supply (drivers) will decrease until it meets demand (riders).
- odonnellryan 9y ago
  The limits of Taxis is historical and stemmed from unsafe behavior: not because Taxi companies want to sell medallions for a lot of money. Maybe that's a good reason now, but it's unfair to say it's the only reason. > The supply (drivers) will decrease until it meets demand (riders). Maybe? Economics is rarely perfect like this. See the government subsidies of many industries, farming for example. Maybe in the middle of the ebb-and-flow lifecycle you'll have something that works really great: but at the extremes you'll have something that hurts a lot of people for a good amount of time. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2241306 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2241306
  - LoSboccacc 9y ago
    as in Italy, making medallions transferable lifetime license was the original screwup. in general if a state want's to limit concession to a scarce resource (whether riders, coal, fishes) it's best to make them time limited and non transferable, with the current owner having a preferred option for renewal and a bid for reassignment.
JumpCrisscross 9y ago
Limiting taxis is an inefficient way to control congestion. Taxis efficiently utilise roads. (App-hailed cars more so, since the time spent searching for a hail is traded for more time transporting people.) Contrast that with streetside-parked cars. If New York City cared about congestion, we'd approve congestion charging. Medallions are a racket.
- odonnellryan 9y ago
  NYC absolutely cares about pedestrian deaths: which is directly linked to congestion.
clarkmoody 9y ago
> too many taxis > There should be enough And who gets to decide how many is "enough" or "too many"? Shouldn't it be the voluntary actions of individuals coordinated by the price system, rather than a centralized planning board? When ride prices are very high, new competitors come in to serve the demand. When prices are low, the least efficient cars stop giving rides, and the supply shrinks. The price system coordinates the actions of countless individuals without the need for a central planner. Note: I'm not defending Uber / Lyft in any way, as I'm not familiar enough with the latest drama.
- Tiktaalik 9y ago
  The city needs to regulate transportation in order to prevent an abuse of the commons that makes everything worse for everyone. Cars impose negative externalities on others in that they take up space on the road and increase traffic congestion. This is not factored into any pricing system. Too many taxis is potentially bad in that they increase traffic congestion and make public transit less efficient. This can result in worse transportation options for low income persons, especially in the case where the taxis are Lyft/Uber type ride shares that are only hailable with a smart phone and may be more expensive due to surge pricing. A potential solution is to introduce comprehensive road pricing such that a car pays for its amount of road use.
  - valuearb 9y ago
    Cabs aren't imposing negative externalities, all cars are. Limiting cabs does nothing to address the problems of congestion, it makes it more likely that people will drive their own cars. You are correct the solution to congestion is to use tolls in some manner, whether on parking or entry to freeway/city. But they have to apply to all vehicles, not just cabs.
valuearb 9y ago
The great news about Ubers is they aren't driving through the streets of NYC looking to pickup riders. They are either driving to pick up someone who requested them, or they are parked. There are good reasons to limit cars. There is zero good reasons to limit cabs. Cabs reduce congestion. Apply limits to cabs and not private cars just means more people driving instead of sharing rides. Limiting cabs is anti-competitive behavior to benefit cab companies, pure and simple.

gk1 9y ago

Firstly, what's "not good" about having too many taxis or Uber/Lyft drivers? I don't think people in the outer boroughs would complain. Secondly, even if there's a good reason why that's bad, it's a problem that would sort itself out. The supply (drivers) will decrease until it meets demand (riders).

odonnellryan 9y ago
The limits of Taxis is historical and stemmed from unsafe behavior: not because Taxi companies want to sell medallions for a lot of money. Maybe that's a good reason now, but it's unfair to say it's the only reason. > The supply (drivers) will decrease until it meets demand (riders). Maybe? Economics is rarely perfect like this. See the government subsidies of many industries, farming for example. Maybe in the middle of the ebb-and-flow lifecycle you'll have something that works really great: but at the extremes you'll have something that hurts a lot of people for a good amount of time. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2241306 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2241306
- LoSboccacc 9y ago
  as in Italy, making medallions transferable lifetime license was the original screwup. in general if a state want's to limit concession to a scarce resource (whether riders, coal, fishes) it's best to make them time limited and non transferable, with the current owner having a preferred option for renewal and a bid for reassignment.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago

Limiting taxis is an inefficient way to control congestion. Taxis efficiently utilise roads. (App-hailed cars more so, since the time spent searching for a hail is traded for more time transporting people.) Contrast that with streetside-parked cars. If New York City cared about congestion, we'd approve congestion charging. Medallions are a racket.

odonnellryan 9y ago
NYC absolutely cares about pedestrian deaths: which is directly linked to congestion.

clarkmoody 9y ago

> too many taxis > There should be enough And who gets to decide how many is "enough" or "too many"? Shouldn't it be the voluntary actions of individuals coordinated by the price system, rather than a centralized planning board? When ride prices are very high, new competitors come in to serve the demand. When prices are low, the least efficient cars stop giving rides, and the supply shrinks. The price system coordinates the actions of countless individuals without the need for a central planner. Note: I'm not defending Uber / Lyft in any way, as I'm not familiar enough with the latest drama.

Tiktaalik 9y ago
The city needs to regulate transportation in order to prevent an abuse of the commons that makes everything worse for everyone. Cars impose negative externalities on others in that they take up space on the road and increase traffic congestion. This is not factored into any pricing system. Too many taxis is potentially bad in that they increase traffic congestion and make public transit less efficient. This can result in worse transportation options for low income persons, especially in the case where the taxis are Lyft/Uber type ride shares that are only hailable with a smart phone and may be more expensive due to surge pricing. A potential solution is to introduce comprehensive road pricing such that a car pays for its amount of road use.
- valuearb 9y ago
  Cabs aren't imposing negative externalities, all cars are. Limiting cabs does nothing to address the problems of congestion, it makes it more likely that people will drive their own cars. You are correct the solution to congestion is to use tolls in some manner, whether on parking or entry to freeway/city. But they have to apply to all vehicles, not just cabs.

valuearb 9y ago

The great news about Ubers is they aren't driving through the streets of NYC looking to pickup riders. They are either driving to pick up someone who requested them, or they are parked. There are good reasons to limit cars. There is zero good reasons to limit cabs. Cabs reduce congestion. Apply limits to cabs and not private cars just means more people driving instead of sharing rides. Limiting cabs is anti-competitive behavior to benefit cab companies, pure and simple.