Today, AutoMarketplace Founder Dawood Mian sat down with Frank Haley, a NYC TLC-licensed driver whose career spans nearly a decade of industry upheaval. From Uber’s bonus-filled early days in 2016 to lockouts, protests, and declining driver pay, Frank has lived through the full arc of how for-hire driving in New York has changed.
Frank’s perspective is shaped by a wide range of experience. He has driven for Uber, Lyft, Access-A-Ride and Revel — first as a W-2 employee and later as a 1099 rental customer until Revel’s recent exit — and he has been active with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA). That mix gives him a unique vantage point on how corporations, regulators, and drivers collide over the city’s transportation future.
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In this conversation, we cover it all—Uber’s expansion years, why Frank never chose the yellow cab route, Revel’s W-2 experiment versus the risks of ownership, and how his trusty 2013 Toyota Prius has endured for over a decade. We also explore why replacing that Prius now means navigating the EV mandate, shifting TLC policies, and the rise of AVs.
Frank doesn’t avoid the tough questions. He argues that drivers shouldn’t waste energy trying to stop AVs — the real fight is ensuring TLC plates retain value so drivers can share in the upside of automation. He even explains why, if he replaced his Prius, he might choose a pre-owned Tesla with Full Self-Driving (FSD): not because he expects AVs to take over tomorrow, but to be ready once regulators allow AVs in NYC.
At its core, this episode is about hearing from NYC drivers in their own words—unfiltered, human, and essential to the city’s future. Frank’s story is both personal and universal, offering a lens into fairness, survival, and the future of work on New York’s streets.
We thank Frank for joining us — and we hope you enjoy the conversation!
Also available on YouTube ⬇️
TABLE OF CONTENTS
00:00 – Introduction 02:50 – Choosing Uber over yellow cabs 03:40 – Early Uber years 06:42 – Uber & Lyft expansion 08:50 – Full-time vs. part-time 09:30 – 2018 TLC plate cap 12:00 – Corporate treatment of drivers 14:00 – What Uber does well 15:40 – Leaving Uber & Lyft for Revel 18:00 – Burning through savings, driving a Tesla for Revel 20:20 – Revel vs. Uber 22:40 – Revel’s W2 to rental shift (+ politics) 25:00 – EV challenges 28:30 – EV mandates & charging (what Revel was doing well) 32:10 – EV repair & warranty risks 34:30 – Message to regulator (TLC) 37:00 – Plate releases & oversaturation 39:30 – The rise of AVs 42:00 – Protecting plate value in AV era 44:30 – Unions & driver advocacy (NYTWA vs. IDG) 49:30 – Plate caps & unintended (but predictable) effects 52:00 – Can AVs be stopped? 56:00 – Car ownership vs. rental economics 01:00:00 – What NYC TLC drivers really need 01:04:52 – Daily revenue benchmarks 01:06:48 – Future of plates & TLC plate double-shifts? 01:08:05 – Final thoughts for NYC TLC drivers
