TLCMKT News (09.24.20): City Must Guarantee Medallion Loans, 1% of NYC Taxi Drivers are Female, Uber Tightens Mask Policy, NYC Threatens to Shut Businesses in Hotspots, "Man Cave" Under Grand Central
Select TLCMKT news headlines for Thursday, September 24th 2020.
City must backstop taxi medallion loans, council members demand (Crain’s)
City Council members, including Ritchie Torres, are calling on the city to guarantee the value of the struggling taxi medallion industry and create a refinance plan modeled after an Obama-era housing relief program.
They are seeking to use the city as a backstop against the leveraged loans that have plunged yellow-cab owners deep into debt while setting a price floor on the value of each medallion at $250,000.
“We are calling for the city to immediately establish a Medallion Asset Relief Program to reset medallion values to $250,000 for the 6,250 medallion owner-operators, or those who own and operate 20 medallions or fewer, through a government guarantee of every taxi medallion in NYC.” - Council Members letter
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Women Grab the Wheel in World’s Least-Diverse Occupation (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Virtually all taxi drivers everywhere are men. Growing numbers of female entrepreneurs are trying to change that.
In New York City, just 1% of yellow cab drivers are female. In England’s black cab and private-hire market, that number is 2% . Gett, a ride-hailing service in Britain, Israel, and Russia (previous owner of Juno), says women account for about 4% of its drivers—but more than half its passengers.
With so many women depending on taxis to get around, more of them are starting to drive or are launching ride-hailing services.
In Brazil, three-year-old startup Lady Driver has raised $2.5 million based on plans to connect women drivers and passengers.
Nina Mizrahi has grown accustomed to the insults and the mockery. When she queues for passengers at taxi stands in northern Israel, fellow drivers ask what she’s doing in “their” business. At a local dispatch station, she frequently hears lewd comments about female passengers. A WhatsApp group for drivers brims with sexual innuendo. “I want women to know that there’s an option, the choice to have a female driver,” says Mizrahi, who in 2017 bought a taxi to offer rides to women and children.
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Uber tightens mandatory mask policy, will require offenders to snap a masked selfie before riding again (NY Daily News)
Uber said it was accelerating its mask mandate, requiring any rider caught without a covering to send a selfie of their face shielded before their next trip.
Uber said in a statement that drivers have reported “not everyone is following this rule. So starting today, we’ve expanded Mask Verification to riders.”
Riders who repeatedly violate the mask policy could be banned. Uber said more than 1,250 riders have so far had their access revoked related to mask rule.
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NYC threatens to shut non-essential businesses in COVID hotspots if cases keep rising (NY Post)
The city Health Department said they will shut non-essential businesses and limit gatherings in the city’s coronavirus hotspots if cases continue to rise.
The measures could come as early as Tuesday. If cases continue to rise, the city will consider banning all gatherings of more than 10 people; issuing fines to those refusing to wear a mask when offered; closing private schools and care centers; and shutting down non-essential businesses.
One hotspot, known as the “Ocean Parkway cluster,” includes Midwood, Borough Park and Bensonhurst.
Mask compliance has been “overwhelmingly low” in the hotspots across both boroughs, the Health Department said Thursday.
Link to story
MTA Employees Busted for Grand Central Terminal ‘Man Cave' (NBC New York)
Three MTA employees have been suspended without pay after someone discovered their subterranean man cave.
The room below one of the platforms was so secret, station management didn't even know it existed.
According to the report, the few select workers used the room to "hang out and get drunk and party."
Link to story.
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