In New York, the old taxi system which works on medallions basically requires someone to pay for a medallion which is basically a license that allows you to operate a taxi or a similar type of vehicle. The costs of medallions have gone up in years and some even costing up to a million for a medallion at some points in time. Thanks to the rise of ride-hailing services such as the likes of Uber, Lift and Via, prices of these medallions have dropped.
But this doesn’t solve the plight of many taxi drivers, including those around the rest of the world. A lot of them are finding difficulty earning an honest day wage and some are even struggling to make ends meet. Enter Uber, Lyft and Via who said that the consortium is willing to create a $100million fund which will be paid out over 5 years to assist these taxi drivers. With one big exception, that the City of New York drops their proposed plans for regulations.
Sounds like a bribe to me and that is probably why the city officials rejected the offer. Whether or not it is a bribe in an actual fact, the sheer mention of it may provide a wrong picture, or a frame of mind to others hence the perception of it rubs it all off in the wrong way. I am very sure that the fund itself has merits and can be debatable but I guess asking for certain demands needs to be taken into consideration as well.
The regulations in which the ride-hailing companies are opposing are mostly related to wages and limiting the maximum number of ride-hailing vehicles in the city.
What do you think if that were the case here in Malaysia?
