Mayor de Blasio said Friday he won’t bail out the yellow cab industry–even as the value of city-issued taxi medallions has dropped sharply because of competition from Uber and other ride-sharing apps.
“I think you will see some leveling off [of the market] over time, and that could strengthen the medallion values again, but I am not ready to commit to reversing course,” de Blasio said on his weekly WNYC radio show.
“I also think there were free-market dynamics that created an opening for Lyft, Uber and others, and the taxi industry has to learn from that … in every way possible.”
Hizzoner was responding to a question from a Manhattan cabbie, who said his industry “is on the brink of bankruptcy” and that the city should take steps to preserve it.
Medallion prices peaked at $1.3 million in 2014—but in recent months were going for as little as $250,000.
Without explaining how, the mayor expressed confidence that medallion market would rebound.
“They still have a lot of intrinsic value because yellow cabs are still a part of how people get around in a growing city…”he said. “I think it is too early to say where this is going in the long haul.
“The more the yellow cab industry is competitive and updates itself, the better off it will be, and what we are seeing is even now with so much availability of the other types of services, there is still a major market for yellow cabs.
“We will certainly be looking at the kind of adjustments we have to make, but I think you can see a different reality in the future where the yellow cab industry is strengthened over time.”
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