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⚡ TLC Says ~45% Of 400 EV Plates Went To Corps, Then Draws Odd Conclusion
TLC says "over 100,000" applied for 1,000 *new* EV TLC Plates, which shows immense demand for EVs. In reality, regulator is mischaracterizing dynamic, while making taxi medallion industry very nervous
NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission Chair David Do remains confident 🤔 about the release of 1,000 *new* EV FHV Licenses (a/k/a TLC Plates), his Commission oversaw this month.
Chair Do states only 174 of the 1,000 new TLC Plates went to business entities. Given the first 600 EV FHV License allocation was reserved only for individual TLC drivers, Do essentially concedes that nearly 45% of yesterday’s allocation went to corporate entities 🤷♀️.
“According to the TLC, 826 of the new plates went to individual drivers while 174 were registered to business entities.”
Drivers will not be happy about that stat and as we’ve argued, the City & TLC missed out on a multi-million $ budget opportunity related to corporate allocations of EV TLC Plates, which would have been viewed as a more equitable process by many.
We also thought another noteworthy development was journalist Evan Simko-Bednarski at the New York Daily News, seems to have become a beat reporter for the NYC TLC industry. After writing an article, sharing many similarities to our own January piece about the TLC Leasing industry, he wrote a piece on yesterday’s EV TLC Plate release process. We welcome more coverage of the industry, especially from a publication with the Daily News’ mass media clout (just give us a shout out ✋ next time Evan!).
What does make us hesitant of Mr. Simko-Bednarski’s coverage (thus far, not a final judgement 🧑⚖️), is his latest report makes NO MENTION 👀 of the flawed “How quick can you click process”, which is astonishing and misses one of the core pieces of the story.
However, industry trade publication Black Car News (BCN) published an insightful opinion piece by Editor Neil Weiss, who shares his own thoughts, while also giving a reference to our coverage 🙏.
To access Black Car News piece click here or the caption link below.
C’ Mon, Man!
“The continuing demand is sending a very clear message that people want more TLC EV licenses…This will inform how we assess the release of future licenses.”
- NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission Chair David Do
IF there was such a demand for EVs, how come existing vehicle licenses are not converting en masse? 🤷 Isn’t it cheaper to run an EV as a NYC TLC vehicle, according to the TLC? 🤷 ~70% of non-medallion FHV licenses are controlled by drivers? 🤔 What’s clear is Do’s conclusion mischaracterizes the underlying market dynamics.
The underlying demand, at least the majority of it, for the 1,000 *new* EV FHV Licenses was NOT a reflection of electric vehicle (EV) demand among NYC TLC drivers, but rather was a way for drivers to exit leasing arrangements. Revel would be the only party we can think of where Chair Do’s statement is applicable.
If the TLC released 1,000 “unencumbered” or “hybrid-only” FHV Licenses, the demand would have been 2x or 3x the 100,000.
As we’ve written previously and others have pointed out, the leasing company concerns are best solved via “Lease Caps”, something already in place in the taxi medallion industry. Let’s have an honest hearing and discussion about leasing companies and make appropriate rules & regulations that prevent abuse & price gouging (✍️ Note: It will require the TLC (& fans of clickbait journalism) to work through some technical fleet math).
Furthermore, there is this notion that if you release new FHV Licenses (a/k/a TLC Plates) it won’t add more vehicles to the road, as drivers leasing their vehicles will simply switch (i.e., zero sum). Firstly, there are more (~40,000+) TLC Licensees than TLC-plated vehicles, so it’s flawed logic. Secondly, purposely promoting the destruction of businesses, in this case leasing companies, is abhorrent.
As many of you know, we started in this industry as a vehicle leasing company focused on luxury “UberBLACK” vehicles. It was a niche offering, but many of our customers could (1) not afford the vehicles due to bad credit or lack of financial resources and/or (2) not afford the large working capital hits related to expensive maintenance work. Are there some abusive leasing companies that should be called out? Of course and there already exists regulatory precedent on how to protect drivers from such abuses.
Taxi Medallions
The larger concern here though is WHY *more* EV FHV Licenses (or any TLC Plates) are being released when thousands of yellow taxi medallions are working a single shift OR are completely inactive; the TLC risks repeating a mistake. Let’s say it together - TOO MANY VEHICLES, LIMITED NUMBER OF TRIPS, TLC DRIVER EARNINGS DECREASE, TAXI MEDALLION VALUATIONS CRASH (AGAIN).
Why is this concept difficult to understand? Taxpayer money and a City Loan Guarantee on taxi medallion debt should serve as a reminder that the TLC should not repeat history.
Chairperson Do, you seem like a decent, honest & caring person, but the honeymoon 🌴 is over, the marriage 💍 has begun, the house 🏠 is emptier than we thought (4 of 9 TLC Commission Board seats are vacant) and we are beginning to get nervous about this union. It’s important to be honest in any relationship.
As always, let us know your thoughts and experience in the comments section below or by emailing us at info@automarketplace.com.
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