Gerson Fernandes and I drove Yellow cab for 21 years in New York City Taxi drivers hurting, too For 21 years, Gerson Fernandes has driven a New York City yellow cab. He owns a taxi medallion, or a small plate with an identification number affixed to the hood of his cab, which allows him to operate as in independent business and driver. He bought his in 2003 for $245,000, and is still paying it off monthly. But since the pandemic began he cannot afford the $3,000-a-month payment. Even before Covid-19 swept the world, traditional taxi drivers were struggling in New York City. At one point the price of taxi medallions topped over $1 million, but that collapsed as drivers for ridehailing services like Uber and Lyft flooded the market. In 2018, nine taxi drivers, faced with the debt they had taken on just to afford a medallion, committed suicide. And then the pandemic hit. At the height of the pandemic, ridership dropped by 90% for yellow cabs and 85% for ride-share apps, according to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which analyzed New York Taxi and Limousine Commission ridership data. "We've lost a lot of customers," said Fernandes, originally from Bombay, India. "I feel sad that such a robust industry has been spoiled or really like gone to the ground and it's not right." The yellow cab is synonymous with New York City. Fernandes used to work 12-hour shifts picking up dozens of customers. Today, he says he is lucky to get four or five. He spends his 8-hour shifts waiting for customers at LaGuardia airport. "Those days you could afford to buy a home and pay the mortgages or pay are all the money, but now it's too bad -- it's difficult to pay," said Fernandes. He says he received unemployment benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for several months when New York City shut down, but stopped collecting once he returned to work. Fernandes says he's seen a slight uptick in customers since the height of the pandemic, but not enough to make him whole. He is hoping New York City's Mayor Bill De Blasio will institute a rent forgiveness on his taxi medallion lease. He already owes more than $10,000 — money he does not have. "I try my best, but like, how much can you try?" said Fernandes. "What can you do? [I have] very limited resources." Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled Gerson Fernandes' first name.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/business/airline-taxi-workers-pandemic/index.html
