Schaller Consulting
Archive

Taxi Regulation and Policy

These papers and reports are aimed at shedding light on the full range of policy, service quality, economic and financial facets of taxicab regulation and operations.

Entry Controls in Taxi Regulation: Implications of US and Canadian experience for taxi regulation and deregulation

Should taxi regulators adopt "open entry"? What are the effects of open entry, medallion caps and other types of entry control? What is the most effective approach?

This paper assesses these issues based on the experiences of 43 cities in the United States and Canada. Advantages and disadvantages of regulatory approaches ranging from deregulation to strict medallion caps are analyzed, and seven specific implications for entry control are discussed. Published in Transport Policy. (2007)

8 Keys to Keeping Taxi Issues From Becoming a Political Hot Potato

This article discusses eight elements that characterize well functioning taxi systems. Cab operators and regulators can use these elements as reference points in thinking about how to improve the regulatory system and industry structure in their city -- and thus keep taxi issues out of the political kettle. (2005)

Taxi fares in major U.S. cities

The Changing Face of Taxi and Limousine Drivers:
U.S., Large States and Metro Areas and New York City

Twelve percent of Americans used a taxi or limousine service in the previous month. Who are the men and occasionally women who deliver taxi and limousine services? What are their backgrounds, how much do they work, how much do they earn?

Based on U.S. Census data, this report shows the increase in immigrant drivers and the predominance of men (although the number of female drivers is growing) in a wide ranging profile of taxi and limo drivers. (2004)

A Regression Model Of The Number Of Taxicabs In U.S. Cities

In cities that control the number of taxicabs by law or regulation, setting the number of cabs is one of the most important decisions made by taxicab regulators and elected officials. This study identifies primary factors related to demand for taxicab service in the United States. Published in Journal of Public Transportation, 2005.

Competition can give a lift to cab service

2006 Taxicab Fact Book
(pdf file)

Revised in March 2006, this is the "indispensable" guide to the New York City taxicab industry, says the Financial Times of London. Information on taxi ridership, trip purposes, fares, customer satisfaction, service availability, industry finances, driver earnings, medallion prices, cars, accidents, driver quality, driver background and nationality, and history and development of the NYC taxi industry.

Overview of the Taxi and Livery Industries in NYC

• Definitions of taxicabs, liveries, car services, black cars and limousines
• Growth of the taxi and livery industries in New York City, 1907-2004

The Taxi Vehicle in the Ideal Taxi System

The cab fleet is not just 13,000 individual vehicles -- it also forms a spatial, economic, environmental and social system. This essay, written as part of the Design Trust for Public Space's 2005 Designing the Taxi project and exhibition, assesses the current taxi system and proposes possible systemic changes to improve service.

Taxi and Livery Crashes in New York City, 2004

New York City cabbies are less crash-prone than other drivers; as a result, passengers are less likely to be injured as a passenger in a taxicab or livery car than as an occupant of other vehicles. The report presents a wide-ranging analysis of NYC crash data. (2006)

Higher Pay, Safer Cabbies
(pdf file)

This report examines data collected over the past decade to assess the relationship between driver earnings and motor vehicle crashes involving taxicabs. The study finds that there appears to be a strong relationship between taxicab crash rates and driver incomes. Higher driver incomes are associated with lower crash rates. (2004)

Elasticities for Taxicab Fares and Service Availability
(pdf file)

This published study utilizes a unique dataset from New York City to quantify how taxi fare increases affect trip demand and the availability of taxi service, in the first published statistically-significant estimates of taxi fare elasticities.

Cab Availability and Ridership, 1990-99
(pdf file)

At the end of the century, the NYC taxi industry set new records for ridership, revenue and occupancy.  At the same time, service availability neared its lowest point in at least a decade.  This report summarizes comprehensive data on taxi ridership, availability and industry finances.

Issues in Taxi Regulation

Who drives taxicabs and why? What are their major problems? How do their problems affect the industry and passengers? How is the taxi industry organized? Is the famous (or infamous) taxi medallion system good or bad? What is leasing? Why do drivers hate it? Are their complaints merited? How has leasing affected the industry? And what can be done about the "taxi mess"?

This 3-part series of papers examines these questions and evaluates a range of policy solutions. Published in the journal Transportation Quarterly, Fall 1995, Winter 1996 and Spring 1996.

• Brief Summary and table of contents for each paper
• "Factors of Production in a Regulated Industry: Improving the Proficiency of NYC Taxicab Drivers" shows how service problems in the taxi industry stem from inadequate driver wages and difficult working conditions.
• "Villain or Bogeyman? New York's Taxi Medallion System" evaluates the widespread notion that the medallion system is the root of service problems, and finds that the growth of taxicab leasing over the last 15 years has had a far more pernicious effect on service quality than has the medallion system.
• "Fixing New York City Taxi Service" looks to the future, analyzing nine strategies for improving service, evaluating the likely efficacy of recent city regulations and the potential of market-based policies.

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