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I have always wondered about this. In San Francisco (aka "The City"), a driver typically pays $200+ for a 12-hour shift on weekends. Then they go around in a ma

by ajays 14y ago

I have always wondered about this. In San Francisco (aka "The City"), a driver typically pays $200+ for a 12-hour shift on weekends. Then they go around in a mad dash, trying to pick up as many lucrative passengers as possible; sometimes resulting in deaths[1] There are 2 rent-seekers in this system. One is the City, which uses these taxis as a revenue stream. Why? We are all paying taxes anyways; why should we pay the City for the privilege to ride a car? And then there's the medallion owners. In the old days, the politically connected got these medallions for peanuts, and are just sitting on them, collecting rent (corruption, anyone?). And surrounding this system is a parasitic bureaucracy for "managing" everything: medallion rentals, credit card transactions, etc. (and we, the taxpayers, pay for this bureaucracy again). A better solution, IMHO, is the following. Auction off 20% of the medallions every year, using a Dutch Auction. The participants in the auction must be licensed drivers with N years of experience, and must pass a test about familiarity with the City. A driver can get only 1 medallion. The City, as a favor to drivers, can bring banks to the table, who can finance drivers. Each medallion is for 5 years; after that period, the medallion goes up for auction again. [1] There was a case recently where the driver was headed to the airport with passengers. He was speeding so he could get back there as quickly as possible (there's a weird rule that if a cab leaves the airport but comes back within 30(?) minutes, it can come back to the front of the line). He had a mechanical malfunction, and the cab caught fire. He survived, but his 2 passengers burnt to death. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=7497183 http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_fran...

larrys 14y ago
"why should we pay the City for the privilege to ride a car?" To the government it's an indirect form of taxation that is more desirable than "raising taxes" which will prevent you from getting elected. Plus much of it (like hotel taxes) is paid by tourists or people who will not view it as a tax in the traditional sense.
voisine 14y ago
I see so many "why don't they just do X, it would make more sense" arguments about all kinds of government programs. The reason that don't in every case is because from the government's perspective the program is working great! The existing medallion owners very much like being able to charge monopoly prices. The city politicians very much like that the medallion owners lobby them to keep the system in place and support their campaigns. Why would they want to mess with something that works just fine? You are not the government. It doesn't serve your interests. It serves it's own interests.
BadCRC 14y ago
The case you cited does not match what you claim. The round time from SFO to Mark Hopkins San Francisco hotel (where the couple was travelling) is at least 40 minutes and the cab driver was driving from SFO, not to it.
- ajays 14y ago
  It's been 2 years, but here's the gist of it: cab drivers at the airport are allowed to jump back to the head of the queue if they are gone for a short period. Is it 30 minutes, or 40? Not sure. But I was told this personally by a cab driver, and also read it in the papers when this incident happened. Once the cab driver leaves the airport, he has N minutes (where in is a short number like 30) to come back. So cab drivers drive fast to get to their destination and then head back quickly. In this particular incident, it came out that the cab driver was aware of the mechanical problem but didn't stop to examine it because he didn't want to waste time.
  - BadCRC 14y ago
    The 30 minutes bit may be true but in this case, the cab driver would not be rushing as there would be no way the driver could return to the airport in time to beat the queue. The article does not state that the driver was aware of any mechanical problem but only that "he had smelled smoke".

by ajays 14y ago

larrys 14y ago

"why should we pay the City for the privilege to ride a car?" To the government it's an indirect form of taxation that is more desirable than "raising taxes" which will prevent you from getting elected. Plus much of it (like hotel taxes) is paid by tourists or people who will not view it as a tax in the traditional sense.

voisine 14y ago

I see so many "why don't they just do X, it would make more sense" arguments about all kinds of government programs. The reason that don't in every case is because from the government's perspective the program is working great! The existing medallion owners very much like being able to charge monopoly prices. The city politicians very much like that the medallion owners lobby them to keep the system in place and support their campaigns. Why would they want to mess with something that works just fine? You are not the government. It doesn't serve your interests. It serves it's own interests.

BadCRC 14y ago

The case you cited does not match what you claim. The round time from SFO to Mark Hopkins San Francisco hotel (where the couple was travelling) is at least 40 minutes and the cab driver was driving from SFO, not to it.

ajays 14y ago
It's been 2 years, but here's the gist of it: cab drivers at the airport are allowed to jump back to the head of the queue if they are gone for a short period. Is it 30 minutes, or 40? Not sure. But I was told this personally by a cab driver, and also read it in the papers when this incident happened. Once the cab driver leaves the airport, he has N minutes (where in is a short number like 30) to come back. So cab drivers drive fast to get to their destination and then head back quickly. In this particular incident, it came out that the cab driver was aware of the mechanical problem but didn't stop to examine it because he didn't want to waste time.
- BadCRC 14y ago
  The 30 minutes bit may be true but in this case, the cab driver would not be rushing as there would be no way the driver could return to the airport in time to beat the queue. The article does not state that the driver was aware of any mechanical problem but only that "he had smelled smoke".