Bring back real cabs. Wait, you mean there aren’t any? No. There are some. Just not nearly enough of them. And it’s the Great American Entrepreneurial urge that has killed them.
Cab companies have gone out of business left and right.
Fleet owners have given -- yes -- given cars to their contract drivers.
Why?
Well, two reasons, really. One is the pandemic. People just
weren’t going places like they used to. But the important reason is those
amateur drivers with Uber and Lyft vehicles that have sent real taxis to the
graveyard, leaving many companies with medallions in the six-figure range and
no visible means of support … or ways to pay back those business loans.
Then what happened? Once-enthusiastic entrepreneurs realized
they weren’t making a living by wearing out their cars and quit. Or at
least decided to take the night off. Every night.
Used to be, your workday started or ended at 3 or 4 in the
morning, you’d call a cab or hail one. Not anymore.
The taxi lobby did little or no good trying to curb the
entrepreneurial urges. The only benefit is they could also curb the
amount of money they poured into the campaigns of cooperative and compliant
politicians.
Bottom line: A lot of people are deep in debt with no
exit visible and … you can’t get there from here.
I’m wesrichards@gmail.com. My opinions are my own, but you’re welcome to them.
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