Medallions serve to limit who is allowed to provide the service. There is no need for this limitation in order to ensure honest service.
For example, cabs could earn (and risk losing) a "Good Cabdriving Seal". There's no need for the quantity of such seals to be artificially limited: they could be unlimited, but only awarded to those that prove worthy.
And while we're at it, the agency doing the certification need not be a government agency at all. Why not Good Housekeeping, or Underwriters Laboratories, or Better Business Bureau?
Only the government has authority to do something to the cab driver, though. The Better Business Bureau can't tell you to stop driving your cab.
The medaillion system is weird, but it works in new york.
The people who think that the invisible hand of the market would improve cab service are awesomely naive. The reason why cabs aren't fucked up in NYC is because of all the regulations, which can only be enforced because the cabbies have something to lose (the mediallion). If there was no government interference, cabs still wouldn't take credit cards, they wouldn't pick up non-white people, they wouldn't drive you to Brooklyn, they would form their own cabal and eventually rip out their meters and just make up whatever price they wanted to charge you, once you got there.
You're only saying that they work in NYC because you're taking for granted all of the failures. For example, how many times have you said "where's a cab when you need one?"?
because of all the regulations, which can only be enforced because the cabbies have something to lose
You think that the loss of the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval", or "UL Certification", or the like is nothing? Don't you think that potential customers would quickly learn to look for that emblem on a cab?
If there was no government interference, cabs still wouldn't
Nonsense. You're just making stuff up, without the slightest evidence. Do you really believe that cab customers would turn away paying customers just because they're not white? And even if they did, that would just open an opportunity for a minority-catering company to make a killing.
For example, how many times have you said "where's a cab when you need one?"?
In Manhattan? Never. (but I've never tried to get a cab in Harlem or north of that)
You think that the loss of the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval", or "UL Certification", or the like is nothing? Don't you think that potential customers would quickly learn to look for that emblem on a cab?
Are you serious? The only thing people look for is if the cab is yellow.
Nonsense. You're just making stuff up, without the slightest evidence.
I'm not just making stuff up, those are all things that cab drivers used to do until the city told them to stop doing those things.
Do you really believe that cab customers would turn away paying customers just because they're not white?
Yes.
And even if they did, that would just open an opportunity for a minority-catering company to make a killing.
Do you live in New York? There already are car services, livery cars and gypsy cabs.
For example, cabs could earn (and risk losing) a "Good Cabdriving Seal". There's no need for the quantity of such seals to be artificially limited: they could be unlimited, but only awarded to those that prove worthy.
And while we're at it, the agency doing the certification need not be a government agency at all. Why not Good Housekeeping, or Underwriters Laboratories, or Better Business Bureau?