The city made $855 million on sales of medallions, the licenses that allow a person to operate a yellow cab, between 2002 and 2014 when it stopped holding medallion auctions.Related, a popular thread on Twitter today:
The value of a medallion has plummeted from over $1 million in 2013 to less than $200,000 now
Me: "What do you mean? Aren't they all ubers and lyfts?"— Imran Khan (@imrankhan) February 19, 2020
Him: "Yeah, but the drivers lease the cars off the same guy. I met him." (2/9)
"The set-up means that when these drivers complete a ride, the payment goes direct to the guy who owns the car.— Imran Khan (@imrankhan) February 19, 2020
The driver sees precisely zero cents until they hit a monthly quota. The money's in the owner's account; he then transfers it once the quota's hit." (4/9)