What Actually Happened to New York’s Taxi Drivers

<p>In the past year, many New York City taxi drivers have fallen deeper into debt, even as the city moved to rein in ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft. Our colleague explains how the rush to blame those apps shielded those who were really behind the crisis. Guests: Brian M. Rosenthal, an investigative reporter on the Metro desk of The New York Times, and Nicolae Hent, a taxi driver in New York City.</p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>A<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/nyregion/suicides-taxi-drivers-nyc.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> spate of suicides by taxi drivers</a> in New York City over the past year has highlighted in brutal terms the financial plight of those with ownership permits. Officials blamed the crisis on competition from ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft.</li><li>But thousands of immigrants who were chasing the dream of owning a New York taxi were<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/19/nyregion/nyc-taxis-medallions-suicides.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> trapped in reckless loans by bankers who made huge profits</a>, The Times found. Despite years of warning signs,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/19/nyregion/taxi-medallions.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> government agencies did little to stop it</a>. </li></ul>