RIDEGURU
I at first thought, "How is this news?" because they've been being killed for years now. Then I realized they were literally killing themselves. Four yellow taxi drivers committed suicide in the past few months due to financial hardships. Apparently caused by Uber and Lyft. The protestor said, "We are sick of burying our brothers." So nuts.
The guy is asking to cap the number of cars using ride-hailing apps. Isn't that just bringing back the medallion system? Yeah, it sounds like it. "Desai and other taxi drivers want the city to cap the number of cars using ride-hailing apps and to establish equal fare pricing."
Meanwhile, the pressure is causing some drivers to take their own lives. On March 16th, 65-year-old Nicanor Ochisor was found dead in his Queens, New York, home. His family said that he was in financial trouble and had pegged his retirement plans on selling his medallion. In February, driver Douglas Schifter shot himself outside City Hall after writing a long Facebook statement chiding the government for its lack of taxi regulation.
Also, take a look at this here. There has got to be more to this story. Add it to the Uber conspiracy theory.
Some city council members are attempting to pass legislation to regulate ride-hailing apps. But when they tried in 2015, Uber launched a big ad campaign that worked to quash any potential reform.
http://www.newsweek.com/uber-lyft-taxi-drivers-suicide-new-york-city-866994
Comments
This is so sad... :( "His family said that he was in financial trouble and had pegged his retirement plans on selling his medallion."
In case people are wondering, the transcript of what Douglas Shifter wrote before his suicide is here.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/7/nyc_taxi_driver_kills_himself_at