greenbadgecabby wrote:
The guys and girls down here who rent offer no less of a service than people like myself who run our own cabs.
But whatever way they work they are bound to be earning more with the KOL to negotiate rather than those with the non-KOL to get past. That's the non-Knowledge of Liverpool
The argument seems to be that if drivers aren't earning much then they'll be more inclined to cheat and cut corners.
Perhaps instructive is the
New York Postleader quoted in Myth and Reality:
Given that yellow cabs (together with limousines) skim the cream off taxi service in the city, that a medallion costs nearly $250,000, and that the industry is heavily regulated, you might expect excellent service by courteous, safe, competent drivers in clean, comfortable cars.
You would be wrong. And one reason why is the leasing system - a byproduct of the medallion structure that ensures a constantly changing cadre of inexperienced taxi drivers who are too desperate to pay off their daily "nut" by the end of a 12-hour shift to give good, safe service.
These drivers are not employees; they are sharecroppers bereft of salary or benefits. Meanwhile, the job they do remains one of the most dangerous in the city. No wonder they're so grouchy.
[…]
Despite the fact that knowledge of the city's geography and the English language are essential to doing the job well, driving a cab became an occupation for freshly arrived immigrants, just half a step up from dish-washing and pumping gas. And it has become a temporary occupation at that; the most able immigrant cab drivers get out of the business just as soon as they can.
This is not surprising, since the leasing system makes driving a taxi the urban version of sharecropping. It costs $100 or so to lease a cab for 12 hours, and the driver bears all the risks of the industry - whether they come in the form of a bad day, bad weather or a massive traffic jam
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