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The purpose of the medallions, in theory, is to improve the chances that the average cab driver can make a living wage. Can the average Uber driver live a middl

The purpose of the medallions, in theory, is to improve the chances that the average cab driver can make a living wage. Can the average Uber driver live a middle class income from this “gig”? > When accounting for the ride-sharing company’s commissions and fees, vehicle expenses and a modest health insurance package, Uber drivers end up earning just $9.21 in hourly wages, according to a new study from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-how-much-uber-drivers-really-make-2018-05-15 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-how-much-uber-driv...

compsciphd 5y ago
the average cabby can't buy a medalion, he therefore has to pay a fee to someone who owns a car with a medalion to rent the car for a period of time (+ probably paying the owner a percentage of his take). As opposed to using his own car and keeping everything that uber lets him to keep which might be less than what the medalion owner would have taken. hence, increase in money into pocket for the uber/lyft driver. with that said, this is all supposition, i just find it a reasonable argument.
- goldcd 5y ago
  I believe they could - and they took out quite horrifically large loans to do so. It maybe made sense though, as your payment was your license to work, and selling the medalion on was your retirement plan. Uber screwed this up - but my feelings are mixed.
- llampx 5y ago
  The sharecropper / feudal lord model.
  - gremlinsinc 5y ago
    The American Dream Model.
bko 5y ago
> The purpose of the medallions, in theory, is to improve the chances that the average cab driver can make a living wage The problem with that is that there is a supply of cab drivers and demand for cabs that drives the price. If you put in a medallion system, the price of the medallion will be bid up such that the cab driver's wage is in line with the market wage. You can't just wave a magic wand and set prices without unintended consequences. So what happened was cab drivers had to take out massive debt to finance these medallions or work for some middle man that is essentially a financing arm. And when the price collapsed, they were stuck with this debt and some even got bailed out by taxpayers. I wish Uber was around when I was younger. I had a car and a lot of spare time. I would have gladly accepted a low wage if I had a few hours to kill. No other job affords that flexibility which is probably why its so popular.
- Dylan16807 5y ago
  You can't instantly prevent all unintended consequences, but making it so you can't resell a medallion and you can't subcontract it (or harsh limits on subcontracting) would fix a lot of those issues.

compsciphd 5y ago

the average cabby can't buy a medalion, he therefore has to pay a fee to someone who owns a car with a medalion to rent the car for a period of time (+ probably paying the owner a percentage of his take). As opposed to using his own car and keeping everything that uber lets him to keep which might be less than what the medalion owner would have taken. hence, increase in money into pocket for the uber/lyft driver. with that said, this is all supposition, i just find it a reasonable argument.

goldcd 5y ago
I believe they could - and they took out quite horrifically large loans to do so. It maybe made sense though, as your payment was your license to work, and selling the medalion on was your retirement plan. Uber screwed this up - but my feelings are mixed.
llampx 5y ago
The sharecropper / feudal lord model.
- gremlinsinc 5y ago
  The American Dream Model.

bko 5y ago

> The purpose of the medallions, in theory, is to improve the chances that the average cab driver can make a living wage The problem with that is that there is a supply of cab drivers and demand for cabs that drives the price. If you put in a medallion system, the price of the medallion will be bid up such that the cab driver's wage is in line with the market wage. You can't just wave a magic wand and set prices without unintended consequences. So what happened was cab drivers had to take out massive debt to finance these medallions or work for some middle man that is essentially a financing arm. And when the price collapsed, they were stuck with this debt and some even got bailed out by taxpayers. I wish Uber was around when I was younger. I had a car and a lot of spare time. I would have gladly accepted a low wage if I had a few hours to kill. No other job affords that flexibility which is probably why its so popular.

Dylan16807 5y ago
You can't instantly prevent all unintended consequences, but making it so you can't resell a medallion and you can't subcontract it (or harsh limits on subcontracting) would fix a lot of those issues.