Fixing New York City taxi service

Transportation Quarterly

Volumn 50, Issue 2, 1996, Pages 85-96

  Schaller, Bruce ^a   Gilbert, Gorman ^a  

^a New York City Taxi Limousine Commn ^*

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AUTOMOBILE DRIVERS; ECONOMICS; EFFICIENCY; IMPROVEMENT; URBAN PLANNING; WAGES;

SERVICE PROBLEMS; TAXI SERVICE; TAXICAB INDUSTRY;

TAXICABS;

EID: 0030100949     PISSN: 02789434     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (11)

1. Based on 1995 telephone survey, conducted for MTA New York City Transit, of 3,000 New York City residents making four or more trips by any means of transportation in a typical week. Respondents were asked to rank overall service by each mode on a zero to 10 scale, with zero being the worse possible service and 10 the best. The mean rating for taxi service was 5.4, compared with 7.4 for private auto, 6.4 for subway and 6.3 for local bus. Taxis also ranked last in the eyes of Manhattan residents, who are far more likely than outerborough residents to use medallion cabs, and for whom taxi availability is far less of an issue. (Sixty-seven percent of Manhattan residents had used a taxi in the previous two weeks.) Ratings among Manhattan residents were 5.9 for taxis, 6.6 for the subway, 6.3 for local bus and 6.0 for private auto.
2. See Schaller and Gilbert, "Factors of Production in a Regulated Industry: Improving the Proficiency of New York City Taxicab Drivers," Transportation Quarterly, Fall 1995, and " Villain or Bogeyman? New York's Taxi Medallion System," Transportation Quarterly, Winter 1996, for analysis on both these points.
3. See Schaller and Gilbert, "Factors of Production in a Regulated Industry: Improving the Proficiency of New York City Taxicab Drivers," Transportation Quarterly, Fall 1995, and " Villain or Bogeyman? New York's Taxi Medallion System," Transportation Quarterly, Winter 1996, for analysis on both these points.
4. 1995 telephone survey of 3,000 New York City residents making four or more trips by any means of transportation in a typical week, conducted for MTA New York City Transit. Ratings for aspects of taxi service were 7.0 for overall convenience; 6.4 for speed of travel, reliability of travel time, and overall comfort of trip; 5.9 for personal security; 4.6 for safety from accidents; and 4.4 for good value for the money. Among Manhattan residents, ratings were nearly identical to these citywide figures, except ratings were higher for overall convenience and for personal security (7.7 and 6.2, respectively).
5. Bruce Schaller, "New York City Taxicab Fact Book, 3rd Edition." NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, May 1994, page 5.
6. Schaller and Gilbert, ibid., 1995 and 1996.
7. Using the first round of licenses as a "test," environmental impacts could be estimated from actual experience rather than the usual "conservative" assumptions that amount to a worst-case scenario.
8. See Schaller and Gilbert, ibid., 1996.
9. TLC exempted the 2,000 cabs run by unionized fleets out of concern that the new regulations not interfere with collective bargaining. The union contract provides that drivers retain no less than one-half of the incremental revenues from a fare increase.
10. It has been estimated that it took 4 or 5 months for demand for service to recover after the 1990 fare increase. See Bruce Schaller, "New York City Taxicab Fact Book, 3rd Edition," page 16.
11. Schaller and Gilbert, ibid., 1995.