USA PLATE VALUES SINK.

The disruptive and largely unregulated ride-sharing industry is leaving select taxi-cab rivals upside down on loans as their operation licenses, known as medallions, plunge in value.

Also hurt in the mix are the financial institutions that lend to taxi companies, prompting at least one credit union to file multiple lawsuits.

Since April 28, a New York credit union has filed five lawsuits over a total of six medallions owned by five Chicago taxi owner-operators, alleging they’re in default on their loans and seeking about $1.4 million, the Chicago Tribune reported. The suit specifically mentions competition from ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft. The latest filings bring to 28 the number of lawsuits that Lomto Federal Credit Union has brought against cab companies so far this year in Cook County Circuit Court, the report said.

Unlike ride-share companies, which allow people to use a smartphone app to order and pay for rides from drivers using personal vehicles, cab companies in Chicago, New York and most cities are required to have a local government-issued medallion. The loan companies often finance the purchase of the medallions. Taxi companies, forced to shrink fleets or log fewer fares, can resell medallions, but they may be under water on the loans.

Chicago city records show that the highest price paid for a Chicago taxi medallion this year is $100,000, down from a peak of $370,000 about four years ago. A New York City taxi medallion sold for $241,000 in March — less than one-fifth of what the cab-ownership tags were going for just four years ago. There are currently 13,587 yellow-taxi medallions in New York — and more than 50,000 Uber and Lyft cars, the New York Post reported.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier this year said taxis will have to weather the competition.
“I think you will see some leveling off [of the market] over time, and that could strengthen the medallion values again, but I am not ready to commit to reversing course,” de Blasio said on his weekly radio show, reported by the New York Post . “I also think there were free-market dynamics that created an opening for Lyft, Uber and others, and the taxi industry has to learn from that . . . in every way possible.”

http://on.mktw.net/2q7GYKN
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NEW YORK

A British tourist who lost her leg after being struck by a taxi in Midtown cannot sue the city for failing to keep the cabbie off of the road.

A Manhattan Appellate Court ruled Tuesday that Sian Green, 28, did not prove the city was to blame.

Green was struck by a cab that jumped a curb in August 2013. The driver, Faysal Kabir Mohammad Himon, had a checkered driving history, including three moving violations in 2011.

http://nydn.us/2q7J3pY
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WELWYN

Drivers have told the Welwyn Hatfield Times that they are not happy with the terms of a contract that AAA has asked them to sign.

Drivers claim that AAA has also asked them to pay for a PDA (personal digital assistant), which is currently included as part of the payment they already make to the taxi firm.

Despite being on strike, drivers say they have had no response from AAA over their concerns.
Driver Mohammed Ali said: “We have been told by our union that we should not sign any contract.”

Shahzad Malik added: “They’re trying to make us sign a self employed contract.

“We’re all self employed now so that’s why we don’t have to sign any more contracts.
“From May 18 they want us to supply our own PDA.”

Mazhar Iqbal, who has worked with AAA for eight years, added: “If we sign a contract, we’re working for them and we’re not self employed.

http://bit.ly/2r2fipN
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