​Purpose: ​Simply Put, Taxicab Medallions are designed to limit the number of Taxis licensed to operate at any given time. In NYC, Taxicab Medallions were first implemented in 1937 by Mayor LaGuardia. During the Great Depression there were over 30,000 taxi cabs in operation in NYC, with more cabs than riders this led to Cabbies working very long hours and a growing distrust of the safety of the cabs on the road due their long working hours and lack of maintenance. The Mayor passed the Hass Act which formally required taxicabs to be licensed and carry a Medallion to designate its authority to operate.

 

​City Specific Examples and Implementation:

 

 

 

​New York City: ​Because NYC was the first city to create this scheme, many other cities have copied its model. Taxicabs in NYC are operated by private companies licensed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. The current Medallion range exists from # 1A10 to # 9Y99, To obtain a medallion one must be purchased by the city at an Auction or from a private owner. Because the number of cabs allowed to operate has increased several times and there is more competition between the companies the cost of a Taxi Medallion in NYC has skyrocketed from around $2,000 in 1947 to over $1 Million today. This has led to medallions falling into the hands of large financial companies and investment firms who own the medallion and lease them out to companies for use.

 

Operating a Taxicab issued a hood affixed Medallion requires total compliance of TLC regulations which are extensive and change frequently.

 

​Type of Vehicle: ​The Taxi and Limousine Commission publishes a list of approved vehicles which are allowed to carry medallions and operate as taxicabs. For years Taxicabs in NYC have been dominated by one type of vehicle, Large American Sedans. The Ford Crown Victoria, Chevrolet Caprice and the Checker Marathon https://mlpforums.com/blog/677/entry-18546-for-the-transit-fans-vehicle-profile-checker-marathon/ Have all enjoyed their time at the top of the NYC Taxi Food Chain. However in the early 2000's new regulations required a replacement of the taxi fleet. The list of approved vehicles shrunk to only allow vehicles which had a Hybrid version available. The rules changed again requiring a certain number of medallions to be issued to wheelchair accessible vehicles. Now currently the TLC is pushing for all companies to use only one vehicle.

 

 

 

The "Taxi of Tomorrow" project began in 2007 as an program designed to find a vehicle which would replace the aging Ford Crown Victoria Taxicabs used in the city. A bid was announced with 3 designs making it to the final round. A design from Turkish manufacturer Karsan was rejected due to concerns the company would not be able to fill an order of over 11,000 vehicles in a short time span. Ford proposed a version of its Transit Connect which was rejected due to its smaller interior space. The Winner of this bid was the Nissan NV200 due to its larger interior space and innovative taxi inspired features such as germ resistant seats. Nissan began to jointly dominate the Taxicab market in NYC when rules began to require Hybrids only. The Nissan Altima Hybrid is approved for taxi use and is also used by the NYPD for patrol duties. The TLC has been sued several times over the Taxi of Tomorrow successfully due to the fact that it violates several of the TLC's own requirements. The NV200 is a commercial van with no Hybrid option and is not wheelchair accessible.

 

Registration: ​Taxicabs in NYC carry special license plates which display their medallion number as their registration number. Because taxi medallions can change owner several times, Taxi license plates can have what is known as a "Subscript" letter. For example if Company 1 operated with medallion # 1A23 but then sold that medallion to Company 2, Company 2 would have to register the vehicle as 1A23b. The Subscript letter denotes how many times the medallion has changed hands. In this case it is clear that 1A23 has chaged hands 2 times. With a revision in New York State license plates, New Taxi registration on the new license plates carry the subscript letter H as the Letter A.

 

 

 

 

 

Color of Vehicle: ​Medallion Taxicabs in NYC must be painted Canary Yellow and can be hailed anywhere in the city. After an analysis by the TLC it was revealed nearly 95% of all taxi pickups occurred in Manhattan. This meant that taxi service in the outer boroughs of NYC was much lower and resulted in many illegal taxi operations. To compensate, "Boro Taxis" were granted authority to operate. Boro Taxis do not carry medallions and are restricted to pickups in the outer boroughs and only certain parts of Manhattan. To distinguish them from medallion taxicabs they must be painted Apple Green. Private car companies in NYC licensed by the TLC are allowed to paint their cars how they wish except for the color yellow.

 

 

 

​Hack Inspector: ​The Taxi and Limousine Commission Enforcement Division is responsible for oversight of the 90,000 vehicles license to operate by the TLC. This includes Medallion Taxis, Green Boro Taxis, Private For Hire Cars, Commuter Vans/Vanpools, Limos and Paratransit Vehicles. At any given time, Agents of the TLC are authorized to inspect Taxicabs and ensure compliance with TLC regulations. The TLC Enforcement Agents also shut down illegal taxicab operations. Vehicles used by the Enforcement division often resemble police cars as inspections are carried out in the form of a traffic stop.

 

 

 

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​Washington DC: ​DC's cab system was completely archaic and out of date until recent improvements were forced on taxi companies. Beginning with its fare structure, fares in DC were previously based on a zone system instead of a meter system. For Example, a ride in Zone 1 would cost one fare, a ride from Zone 1 to Zone 2 would have a different fare and a surcharge for crossing zones etc. This led to many cabbies cheating customers out of money especially tourists who were unsure of what the correct price should be. This led to a requirement that Taxicabs be fitted with a meter and fare set by the city. The District of Columbia Taxicab Commission doesn't issue physical medallions for taxicabs but does follow suit of the medallion system.

 

​Type of Vehicle: ​The DCTC has no real official list of vehicles per se, but Taxicabs must be retired by the time they reach 300,000 miles. Taxicabs must also not be on a salvage title or have damage. This leads many cab companies to operate brand new vehicles and older vehicles are allowed to operate until the reach their mileage deadline. This also means Cabs in DC are very diverse ranging from Toyota Camry to Kia Soul to Ford Fusion. Many cab companies attend Police Auctions where police vehicles are auctioned off to the public. Some newer police vehicles such as the 2011 and 2012 Ford Police Interceptor and Chevrolet Caprice (only sold to police agencies) have been auctioned off to cab companies.

 

 

 

Registration: ​Taxi Companies must purchase "Authority to Operate" from from the DCTC for each vehicle they operate. The Driver's photo and information are mounted on a special placard which is mounted on the dashboard's passenger side. In November 2013 the DCTC required all taxicabs to carry a new dome light which carries the cab's Public Vehicle Identification Number or PVIN. This is not considered a medallion by the DCTC but to the public it is meant to function as one. For years, people in DC were not able to file complaints against cabbies because the Taxicabs in the city were not organized with one numbering system. Every taxi company was allowed to number their cabs individually making it difficult to determine which cab the complaint was against.

 

For example if "Falcon Cab Co" "Yellow Cab Co" And "Luxury Cab Co" all have a vehicle with #10 the passenger may be unsure which cab #10 he/she was in. The Dome Lights allowed for all vehicles to be issued a specific 4 digit number in the format of A100 to Z999. This number follows the driver not the car, allowing for complaints against drivers to made more easily.

 

Cab Drivers in DC were notorious for refusing to pick up African American passengers and Passengers with disabilities. This system allows for total compliance of DCTC regulations requiring all passengers who hail a cab allowed a ride. This also led to the DCTC requirement of all drivers to take a customer service and sensitivity training class. As most cabbies are foreign born they were not aware they were violating federal law and their companies faced heavy fines.

 

The new lights also have an LED display which lets passengers know the status of the cab of either "Taxi For Hire, Taxi On Call or Taxi Off Duty". Drivers have asked for the light to also have a "Call 911" feature as well. License Plates for DCTC authorized cabs carry the format of H-12345 or 12345-H. H standing for Hack or Hackney.

 

 

 

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Vehicle Color: ​Before the DCTC required all Taxicabs to carry District Department of Transportation (DDOT) livery, all cab companies in DC used a different color scheme. It lead to the streets looking like rainbows and passengers unsure of the company operating the cab. The new scheme follows the paint layout on DC Circulator buses, DC Streetcars and Capital Bikeshare Bicycles of Red and Gray. The company name and phone number must be displayed on the sides and rear of the vehicle. If the cab is owned by an individual, the owners name and number are displayed instead.

 

 

 

​Hack Inspector: ​The DCTC operates very similar to their counterparts in NYC, as they are authorized to perform inspections at random and during traffic stops. Cabbies in DC are required to keep a written manifest of all trips they take and non compliance is fined. Many cab drivers who opposed the new paint scheme (such as those who worked for Yellow Cab) and who opposed the new dome lights refused to add these mandatory requirements leading to many cabs being impounded.