“The55Stangarage issymbolicofNewYorkCity,”
saysRichard. “It’sameltingpotwith600drivers
fromallover theworld–African,Haitian,Middle
Eastern–andweall getalonghere…Thedriverswe
used tocall ‘cowboys’ and ‘outlaws’ thatdrove in
themiddleof thenight, rippingcustomersoff,have
mostlybeenweededoutby thenewTLC regulations.
The fellows thatare in it fora real jobandwant to
staywith it, theyholdonto their licences– it’show
theysupport themselvesand their families.”
Cabbiesdriveanaverageof290kmpershift, anda
taxi typically travels 113,000kmeveryyear–which is
enough to travel around theworldnearly three times.
And, everymile isahustle tomakeabuck. “It’severy
man forhimselfouton thestreets,”saysGraham
Hodges, authorof
Taxi!ASocialHistoryof theNew
YorkCityCabdriver
,whodroveacab forfiveyears to
puthimself throughschoolbefore leaving in 1975 to
pursueanacademiccareer. “It isa tiring job.”
It’salsoa risky job.According toaBBCWorld
Service radiodocumentary,
YellowCabBlues
,which
aired in2014, taxidriversare30 timesmore likely to
bekilledon the job than theaverageworker, and80
timesmore likely tobe robbed.
There’salso thefinancialuncertainty.Although
driversaverageanethourly rateofbetween$14and
$31,most rent theircabs fromgarages for 12-hour
shifts, atacostofaround$120,meaning theystart
everyshiftata loss.Add ingascosts, anddrivinga
taxi isoneof the few jobs in theworldwhereyoucan
finishanine- to 12-hourshiftandhave lessmoney
thanwhenyoustarted.
So,whatdoes it take tosurvive–andsucceed–as
ahack in theBigApple?According tobothGojiaand
RichardWissak, it’ssimple: theability toengagewith
yourpassengers. “Yougottahavepersonality,”says
Gojia. “Ifyou’re talkativeandhaveconversations
withpeople, you’llmakeagood living.A lotofpeople
treatcabdrivers like therapists– tell themstuff they
wouldnever tell anyoneelsebecause theyknow
theywon’t see themagain. It’s like free therapy, and
peoplewill tipwell for that.”
“Youalsohave tohavepatience, andknowwhen
tokeepyourmouthshut,”addsWissak.
Thebiggestchallenge to the industry in recent
years,however, is the riseofapp-basedcarservices,
suchasUber.Totalyellow-cab ridesweredown 10
percent in thefirsthalfof2015, compared to the
sameperiod in2014,while therewere 100,000Uber
trips inasinglemonth– a fourfold increase from the
same time theyearbefore.
But, it’snotallbad.TheUber revolutionhas
alsomeant increasedoptions fordrivers, and less
competition foryellowcabs.Thismightmake things
harder forfleetowners,whoneed tokeep theircars
outon the road,butaccording tosomeof thedrivers,
it’sgenerally improvedconditions for thosewho
havechosen tostickwithyellowcabs.
“Before thereweremoredrivers thancabs,”says
Gojia. “Youhad to tip thedispatcher$30 ifyou
wantedacab–bribeyourway in–and theyacted
like theyweredoingyoua favourbygivingyoua taxi.
Now, thereare fewerdrivers.Thegarageshave free
donutsandcoffee, you takeaseatandgetacab in
fiveminutes.”
So,whatdoes the futurehold forNewYork’s
yellowcabs?“Icouldbeverygrimabout itandsay
thatUber isgoing to takeover,”saysHodges
.
“That
couldverywellbe thecase,but Ipersonally think
thatpeoplewill realisewhy theyellowcabsareso
regulated, andsee thebenefit in that.”
Wissakagrees. “Thiscity is fullof impulsive
peoplewhowant tobeable to raise theirhandon the
spurof themomentandhaveacarstop. So, I think
yellow taxisaregoing tostickaround,”hesays. “You
have tobeacharacter todriveNewYorkCity, though
– that’swhatwesay to thenewcomers.And that
they’ll alwaysbeable to tell theirgrandchildren they
droveayellowcab inNewYorkCity.”
55stancorp.com
Norwegianflies toNewYork fromsevendestinations.
Bookflights,ahotelandarentalcaratnorwegian.com
“A lotofpeople treatcabdrivers
like therapists- tell themstuff
theywouldnever tell anyoneelse...
people tipwell for that”
038\
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