Yesterday, AutoMarketplace founder Dawood Mian sat down with Harvir Singh, an NYC TLC–licensed yellow cab driver who operates a family-owned taxi medallion, to explain what medallion ownership actually looks like in New York City today. Driving the cab alongside his father, Harvir breaks down the real financial, operational, and regulatory challenges—and hopes—that come with owning and operating an NYC taxi medallion.
Harvir’s perspective is shaped by nearly a decade of firsthand experience in the industry. He and his father entered the business in 2017 through leasing, paying weekly rates of roughly $1,000, before deciding in 2019 that purchasing a medallion made more economic sense. They acquired the medallion for approximately $220,000 with about 5% down, securing financing at a 5% interest rate on a 25-year amortization schedule with a five-year balloon, resulting in a monthly payment of about $1,100. Even at the height of Uber and Lyft’s disruption, the yellow cab generated roughly $3,500 per week in combined gross earnings between two drivers.
The conversation moves well beyond “taxi vs. Uber” headlines. Harvir walks through what NYC taxi earnings looked like before the pandemic, during the COVID collapse, and today (2025); why he and his father abandoned traditional day-night shift splits due to lost trips during driver handoffs; and how owning a medallion fundamentally changes driver economics compared with leasing.
He also explains how Uber and Curb e-hails actually work inside yellow cabs, why Uber dominates accepted e-hails despite higher commissions, why street hails still pay more, and how drivers make real-time decisions between platforms, airports, and street pickups.
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Harvir offers a rare, firsthand account of the pandemic’s financial shock, when taxi demand collapsed overnight—forcing months of reliance on savings and unemployment benefits before demand rebounded amid a reduced supply of active yellow cabs. Despite maintaining a consistent payment history, attempts to secure relief through the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission’s Medallion Relief Program Plus (MRP+) ultimately failed due to disagreements over debt-forgiveness terms between his lender and the City. When the original 2019 balloon came due in 2024, the medallion was refinanced at a significantly higher 9% interest rate, with a shorter amortization schedule and a new two-year balloon—underscoring the refinancing risk many owner-drivers now face.
Finally, the conversation looks forward. Harvir explains why the lack of long-term institutional lending remains one of the biggest constraints on medallion values, how Uber, Waymo, and autonomous vehicles (AVs) realistically fit into the NYC taxi ecosystem, and why—despite everything—he remains bullish on NYC taxi medallions as a cash-flowing, license-based asset rather than a relic of the past.
The result is a level of realism and detail largely missing from public discussions of NYC taxi medallions, offering a rare look at ownership and operations as they actually exist on the ground today.
We hope you enjoy the conversation, and we thank Harvir for his time.
Also available on YouTube ⬇️
TABLE OF CONTENTS
00:00 – Intro: A Real NYC Taxi Owner-Driver Conversation
01:06 – Why Full-Day Shifts Beat Day/Night Splits
03:04 – Starting in the NYC Taxi Business in 2017; Buying a Taxi Medallion in 2019
04:27 – What Did You Buy the Medallion for in 2019 ($220k)? Financed? Loan Terms (Rate, Amortization, Balloon)?
06:15 – NYC Taxi Medallion Investment Thesis
07:18 – Leasing vs. Owning
08:46 – How Much Were You Making in 2017? Uber/Lyft’s Impact on Taxi Earnings
10:35 – What Happened During the Pandemic? Monthly Medallion Loan Payments
13:21 – What Vehicle Is the Medallion Attached To? Selected vs. Non-Selected? WAV-Only?
14:04 – 2024 Medallion Loan Balloon Payments Come Due: What Happens? Refinancing Dynamics
19:35 – Medallion Relief Program (MRP+): Why Harvir and His Father Couldn’t Get a Deal; Accompany Capital’s $100,000 Offer
27:45 – New Refinancing Offer from the Existing Lender? Loan Terms (Rate, Amortization, Monthly Payment, Balloon)?
30:25 – No New Medallion Lenders in the Market? Marblegate? Seller Financing Only?
32:47 – What NYC Taxi Drivers Earn Today (2025) – Part 1
34:20 – How Uber and Curb E-Hail Dispatches Work Inside Yellow Cabs
35:22 – Busiest Days? Number of Trips per Day
36:45 – Uber vs. Curb: E-Hail Split and Driver Preferences
40:53 – Uber vs. Street Hails: Which Pays More?
43:35 – Driver and Passenger Preferences: Street Hails, Taxi Stands, and Airports
46:50 – What NYC Taxi Drivers Earn Today (2025) – Part 2
48:08 – Do You Still Want to Own an NYC Taxi Medallion? Waymo in NYC
50:00 – Thoughts on the Medallion Becoming an Autonomous Vehicle (AV) License
51:45 – Condition of the Current Vehicle Attached to the Medallion: Mileage and Outlook
53:32 – Expense Overview (Taxi/TLC Insurance Premiums and Trends, Gas Costs)
57:21 – Would You Buy Another Medallion Today? The Need for New Lenders and Institutional Investors to Increase Medallion Values – Part 1
59:06 – NYC Taxi Medallion Bull Case Thesis (Reddit, Wall Street Investors, Waymo, Uber)
1:00:37 – Would You Buy Another Medallion Today? The Need for New Lenders and Institutional Investors to Increase Medallion Values – Part 2
01:03:40 – Waymo, Politics (Mamdani), Regulation, and the Future of Yellow Cabs
01:06:21 – Prediction and Price Target for NYC Taxi Medallion Values: How You Think About It
01:08:59 – Final Thoughts: Why NYC Yellow Cabs Aren’t Dead
01:14:43 – PSA: JFK Queue App, Clickers, and License Risk
AutoMarketplace reports on New York City’s for-hire transportation (TLC) industry and the wider automotive mobility landscape.
AutoMarketplace.com is a data intelligence and market infrastructure platform for New York City’s for-hire vehicle ecosystem—delivering proprietary indexes (AYX, APX, AIX), real-time analytics, and marketing services across taxi medallions, TLC plates, and commercial insurance.
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