What's New
Entry Controls in Taxi Regulation:
Policy Implications of U.S. and Canadian Experience
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 communities in the United States and
Canada. The analysis shows that without entry controls, the cab stand and street
hail market experiences an oversupply of cabs, leading to deterioration of vehicle
and driver quality. Applied to the dispatch market, however, entry restrictions
often lead to deficiencies in taxicab availability.
A major challenge for officials
charged with regulating taxi entry is to reconcile the disparate needs of dispatch and
cab stand/street hail markets, particularly in places with substantial trip volumes
in both markets. Approaches to this challenge include two-tier systems, flexible
forms of entry control, company-level entry qualifications, geographic restrictions
and service requirements. These approaches and implications for regulation are discussed.
New York City Taxicab Fact Book (updated 2006)
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.
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.
Necessity or Choice? Why People Drive in Manhattan
(3.6 mb pdf file)
With space at a premium in New York City, what would happen if auto use were restricted
in favor of buses, pedestrians and bicyclists? Do auto users have realistic transit options?
How would they get to work, shopping or the theatre without their cars? What would be the
economic and traffic impacts? This report is intended to help New Yorkers
evaluate how much space should be devoted to personal auto travel
based on the facts about auto use in the Manhattan central business district.
On-board and Intercept
Transit Survey Techniques
(2.7 mb pdf file)
This Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) report synthesizes issues and methods
of conducting surveys on-board buses and rail vehicles and in transit stations.
Fall 2005.
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.
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.
Top 10 Drive-to-Work Census Tracts in Manhattan
(707k pdf file)
An analysis of 2000 Census data shows that government workers are twice
as likely to drive to work in the Manhattan central business district as compared
with non-government commuters. If government workers commuted by car at the same
rate as other workers, there would be 14,000 fewer cars coming into the Manhattan
Central Business District each day. Collecting metered parking rates on the parking
spaces currently used by these cars would generate over $33 million annually in
revenues to the City.
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 the Journal of Public Transportation 2005.
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