Thank you for sharing this important story. We need to know of the life, times and travails of all classes of Goans. FN
On Sat, 23 Jan 2021 at 13:54, Frederick Dsouza <[email protected]> wrote: > 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 > -- FN* फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا +91-9822122436 AUDIO: https://archive.org/details/goa1556 <https://archive.org/details/@fredericknoronha> TEXT: http://bit.ly/2SBx41G PIX: http://bit.ly/2Rs1xhl Can't get through on mobile? Please SMS/WhatsApp
