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😅 Stress Test: Diary Of An NYC TLC Fleet Owner
Insight from street-hardened NYC TLC fleet owners. From stolen cars to NYC parking tickets 😅, some insight into a misunderstood industry
AutoMarketplace NYC covers the for-hire transportation industry and automotive news. Check out AutoMarketplace on YouTube ▶️
From the outside, many things often seem much easier than they are. Many NYC TLC drivers who lease their vehicles, may assume FHV Corporations, or companies that lease out TLC-plated vehicles, must be making ridiculous sums of money 🤑. $400+ per week for a Camry, are you kidding me!
For an individual(s) who’s never run a business, let alone a fleet in NYC, the cost of doing business can be confusing to understand 🤔. For a reporter, who’s only sat behind a keyboard, the math may seem unfair 😠. Yet, as is often the case, maybe there is more to the story. If I said, NYC TLC drivers can make a ton of money if they work hard…well, sure, some days and nights are very lucrative if a driver puts in the hours. However, most can recognize such a statement is a gross simplification. For example, am I talking driver revenue or driver earnings (revenue - costs)?
Now, that is not to say SOME NYC TLC fleet owners are unethical and/or unempathetic, just like some drivers are. Those fleets (& drivers) must be called out. I assume people can understand bad behavior and bad customers are not something exclusive to the NYC for-hire transportation industry. We started AutoMarketplace.com because starting and running, as we’ve disclosed several times before, a small-to- medium sized luxury NYC TLC fleet exposes you to a lot of well…pain 🤕.
The Excel spreadsheet output and the cash that ultimately flows to a real bank account are often two very different numbers. Some of that pain is unique to fleet owners (i.e., driver not paying their lease), while other pain is shared among fleet owners and drivers alike (i.e., auto repair, insurance costs). At AutoMarketplace.com, we decided to mostly concentrate on addressing the shared 🤝 pain part, as our content and auto repair & services marketplace probably makes clear. However, this week and from time-to-time, I also wanted to give a voice to and insight into the NYC TLC fleet industry - not only for fleet owners to express their grievances, but to also make the industry more transparent so drivers also understand its inner workings. Also, if any TLC drivers want to share their experience with a TLC fleet owner, do not hesitate to reach out at 📧 info@automarketplace.com.
I thought this week was as good as any to start this series, because at the time of this writing (Monday, August 1st at 4 pm) a fair amount of things have happened to the fleet I help run, in just in the last 24 hours!
⏱️A Lot Can Happen In 24 Hours
🍎 NYC Tickets
So, anytime the end of month approaches or a big NYC initiative is going to be announced I get paranoid. Why? It’s because during these times you know to expect the unexpected with anything related to NYC government. For example, the much publicized 24 / 7 speed cameras in NYC were scheduled to go live today, August 1st 👇.
Well as midnight hit ⏰, ushering in August, the NYC government didn’t disappoint. Governments often are very efficient and strategic when it comes to collecting money, but when it comes to fixing problems like potholes…well you get the point I’m making.
At the strike of midnight the City, unusually, put a large majority of our fleet’s NYC tickets (remember this is across 20+ vehicles) in “Judgement”. Putting many tickets in “Judgement”, means the entire fleet could be shut down via cars being booted and our business effectively held hostage. I rushed to clear out the tickets and will deal directly with our lessees in resolving tickets the company paid on their behalf. It’s also worth mentioning some of our lessees (TLC drivers) were planning to dispute tickets, but City beat them to the punch 🥊.
⚠️ TO BE CLEAR, at 11:59pm on July 31st ZERO tickets were in Judgement in our fleet. At 12:00am on August 1st, the City put 65 tickets into Judgement. ⚠️
In fact, one of our lessees sent a screenshot to us of an NYC ticket he already paid, but was still showing as being unpaid and in Judgement. When he called the NYC Department of Finance this morning they informed him “sometimes there is a delay”. From experience, there often is NO DELAY when it comes to booting a vehicle and preventing a TLC driver from earning his or her wages. That’s a pretty interesting dynamic we think 🤔.
You also might be wondering how that many NYC parking tickets came about? Part of the answer has to do with the number of cars in the fleet, part of it has to do with NYC TLC drivers being on the road a lot (and yes, being irresponsible) and part of it is the subject material for any journalist(s) wanting a shot at a Pulitzer 🏅. Perhaps this very publication takes a swing at it, but for now we’ll leave this topic here.
🚨 Stolen Car…Found Car
So, after rushing to resolve the NYC Department of Finance ticket fiasco shortly after midnight, we thought we earned a relatively relaxed Monday morning. Well, early this morning our long term auto repair shop in Queens called us, to let us know that multiple vehicles, including two of ours, were stolen from their shop late last night. Now, this is not an everyday occurrence, but it happens more than you probably think to both NYC drivers and fleets. In fact, NYPD reported a 50%+ surge in stolen vehicle reports (Grand Larceny Auto) this year vs 2021!
The morning and afternoon involved a lot of calling and coordinating between the NYPD and OnStar, which can be used to help track GM vehicles (we had a Cadillac stolen) and likely help recover some of the other vehicles that were stolen from the shop. After several hours, NYPD with OnStar managed to find 🙏 the car and we will share that story soon!
👨🔧 Major Auto Repair
As this all was going on, we had a major repair (Camshaft replacement) scheduled at the same auto repair shop that was robbed. Since the repair shop was in disarray and had other equipment stolen they were closed for the day, which then delayed the major work and us ultimately returning the vehicle to a working condition. Since our lessee cannot use the car, we also aren’t charging (i.e., losing revenue), until the vehicle is working again.
☂️ New Insurance Claim
Finally, a new insurance claim stemming from a May 2022 incident where one of our lessees had a relatively minor incident with a City vehicle (Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS)) needed to be investigated further by our insurance company. Our lessee says the City vehicle sideswiped him, while the City employee says the same thing about our lessee.
Final Thoughts
The setbacks, risks and administration above don’t occur everyday for a NYC TLC fleet owner / manager, but these sorts of days do indeed happen from time to time. With rising auto repair and insurance costs (inflation), fleets are also under increasing financial pressure. Just remember, there are always MULTIPLE sides to every narrative. As we all can appreciate, running a business can be complicated.
As always, let us know your thoughts below or by emailing us at info@automarketplace.com?
AutoMarketplace NYC covers the for-hire transportation industry and automotive news. Check out AutoMarketplace on YouTube ▶️