New York Taxi Drivers Close Bridges in Desperate Appeal to End ‘Debtor Life Sentence’

Top line

Traffic stopped on two New York City bridges on Thursday as fleets of yellow cab drivers joined a call for debt cancellation amid the decimating coronavirus pandemic the industry already struggling and left many drivers in crisis.

Victor Salazar sings into a megaphone as taxi drivers stop traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge on … [+] September 17, 2020 in New York. New York City taxi drivers held a day of action calling for loss of income debt forgiveness due to shortage of work due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) .

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Highlights

A caravan of taxis closed the Brooklyn Bridge and the Queensboro Bridge on Thursday afternoon, resulting in local traffic warnings.

The latest in a series of protests, the driver group, organized by the NY Taxi Workers Association, is calling for debt relief due to lost income amid the pandemic.

With the number of drivers working at 75% in June, the most recent month The data is available from the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, and ridership is down 90%, drivers say they are unable to keep up with locket loan payments.

Marblegate Asset Management, the largest holder of taxi loans, has granted loan repayment leave to around 2,000 medallion-owner drivers since mid-March, in addition to lowering some loans to $ 300,000 (including $ 25,000). $ are needed to finance the restructuring) and reduce the average monthly loan repayment from about $ 2,800 to $ 1,500.

Those costs, taxi drivers argue, are still too high, especially for drivers who are still struggling to find passengers amid the pandemic.

The association is asking lenders like Marblegate to cut loans to $ 125,000 and cut monthly payments to around $ 750 to “lift drivers out of poverty,” calling the company’s offer a “life sentence. to prison for debtor “.

In a statement to Forbes, a Marblegate spokesperson said the company agrees loan restructuring “is the only way to start stabilizing the taxi industry and getting drivers back on their feet,” but believes a “one-size-fits-all approach” deprive owner-operators of the equity they have worked for years to build.

Crucial quote

“Yellow cab driver-owners continue to be in a state of crisis – a crisis which only worsens as they are prevented from relieving their debt,” said the executive director of New York Taxi Workers Association, Bhairavi Desai. “Time is running out as lenders are now demanding mortgage payments for October.”

Large number

83%. The percentage of union drivers who struggled to eat or could not afford to eat amid the pandemic. Almost 40% of union drivers have contracted Covid-19 or have lived with someone who tested positive for the virus.

Key context

Once considered a safe investment for drivers, taxi medallions have faced a catastrophic decline in value since 2014, caused by increased competition from ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, as well as risky lending practices. Selling prices for the medallions, which peaked at $ 1.3 million, fell below $ 200,000, leaving many drivers who bet their livelihoods on the investment struggling to make ends meet.