I took a cab to work this morning and got into a conversation with the cabbie. When we talked about the new taxi stand coming, he said there would only be enough spaces for 25 cars waiting for fares. He then went on to say the city keeps selling licenses at over $300K each. To rent the car for a week costs $700 and, the complaint was, 25 spots on the stand weren’t enough to recover their costs.
I had no idea the city charged so much for a hack license; it seems a bit much if you ask me. I thought NYC’s rate was high. At last glance, I thought it was over $400k. But, let’s face it, NYC cabbies can make a lot more on one fare than one from Hoboken. At $5 in town, a Hoboken cab driver can even afford the coffee they drink. Granted, the weekly costs for a hack from New York are greater but, still.
But I wonder how many of these licenses the city is printing. It’s probably how they fund some of their operations. Given the rate is fixed, I wonder how high it can go with a $5 fare. And if they raise the per ride fee, will the costs of a license go up? And does anyone know if that cost is per year or a one time fee? Can they be bought and sold on te open market?
I know the city needs all the money it can get but at $5 a ride, a cabbie would need to take 140 people to their destination just to cover the cost of the car (if my math is right). When you figure in the cost of gas, insurance (if they require it), and other items, it could be 200 fares or more needed to break even. Is that even possible to do in a week? I know tips and fares outside the city are more but is that the only profit these guys get? I guess if there wasn’t any way to make money, they wouldn’t do it.
I love my $5 ride but I feel bad for them.
