They are often referred to as unofficial ambassadors of New York City—cabbies are the first people tourists and visitors to New York come in contact with.
These drivers of yellow taxicabs, who carry up to half a million passengers a day, are on the brink of a financial crisis due to unfair city rules and the apathy of regulating agencies like the Taxi and the Limousine Commission.
A new report by the Community Development Project of the Urban Justice Center said that yellow cab drivers, consisting largely of South Asian immigrants, are facing tremendous economic hardship and miserable daily working conditions.
"Sixty-two percent of the drivers reported being behind rent and other basic living expenses. 44 percent of them have credit card debt and 39 percent owe on personal loans above $io,ooo," said Saba Waheed, co-author of the report, “Unfare: Taxi Drivers and the Cost of Moving the City.”
The report is based on random surveys conducted on 581 drivers during the winter of 2002-2003—the first time such a large pool of drivers has been surveyed. The survey participants were representative of 49 countries, and 58 percent of the respondents were from South Asia.
“New York city is considered the fourth most expensive large city in the world and yet it has the lowest taxi fare in the country,” the report said. Despite the rise in cost of living and gas prices, cab fares have remained the same since 1996.
“High lease costs and gas prices coupled with low gross earnings are driving taxi workers into economic hardship,” the report said. “Moreover, the workers in the industry were especially hard hit by the events of September 11, and many drivers who were barely making ends meet before the attacks were pushed into a deeper economic crisis.”
The researchers, including Laine Romero-Alston, blame what they called unfair city regulations for the plight of the drivers. The current structure of the taxicab industry, which is regulated by the TLC, a city agency, places the financial burden and risks of the industry on drivers, and they have little control over the conditions and terms of their work. This, the report said, makes it nearly impossible for drivers to achieve financial stability.
The survey noted that with daily operating costs of $137 daily and gross income of less than $16o, the drivers' net average daily earnings is $22.14.
"Drivers work 12-hour daily shifts with no guaranteed income, no health insurance, no paid time-off or unemployment, and remain the city's ambassadors," said Yilma Wolde-Mariam of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance at a press conference. "The yellow cab has gone from being a cultural symbol to a symbol of sweatshop labor," she said.
Cab drivers who were present at the conference expressed their resentment. "If I have only 25 passengers paying me six dollars per fare, I book only $150 that night. How can I make any money if I have to pay about $130 for the lease and gas daily?" asked Mohammed Ahmed.
Bhairavi Desai, NYTWA Director, said lowering leases is the sensible thing to do. The NYTWA has proposed lease caps of $500 weekly, and $95 per night for Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays night; the garages' association proposes to raise the weekly cap to $617 and to $137.50 for busy nights.
Both the proposals are before TLC.
The survey also showed that many drivers were unable to access the disaster related benefits for displaced workers after 9/11, due to narrow eligibility guidelines and lack of information. Only 7 percent of the drivers surveyed had applied for any form of disaster assistance. Of those that did apply, 34 percent were denied assistance, 5 percent received disaster aid and five percent
got loans from FEMA or SBA (Small Business Administra
tion).
In absolute numbers, that means only four out of 581 drivers surveyed got either aid or a loan.
