Too many NY taxi drivers, not enough cabs for them

NEW YORK (AP) – Many of the thousands of New York City residents laid off in the financial crisis have turned to driving taxis, but now there are too many drivers and not enough cabs.

Garage owners say they're turning away drivers. Harlem Yellow Cab manager Syed Zahoori says on every shift people get sent home without cabs.

City officials say the number of hack licenses is at an all-time high of nearly 46,000. The number of new licenses is up 19 percent over the last three months compared with the same period last year.

There are about 13,000 taxis.

Taxi and Limousine Commission Chairman Matthew Daus says there's always an influx of drivers when the economy is bad but this period "appears to be setting some records."

Driver Safwat Mansour says he needs to work so he can send money back home to Egypt.

New York isn't the only place where there are more drivers than cabs, we also have this problem here in Chicago.

The part time drivers who only work a few days a week, sit for hours at the cab company garages waiting for other drivers to drop their cabs so they can work.

I had to wait a day and a half for a replacement cab, after city consumer service staff chopped the medallion off my regular cab. The reason; the cab company didn't keep track when my cab was due for inspection, and I had to suffer waiting a day and a half, losing time and money, for another cab that wasn't as good as my regular cab. That was the companies fault and drivers like me gets put in the middle.

Many times when I go to the garage to pay my lease, waiting drivers are asking me; am I dropping my cab?, so they could work.

This is why I keep the lease paid on my cab, so I could keep the cab and not worry about waiting for the next available cab that will take hours and sometimes days.

Sounds like you should look to lease elsewhere. If your answer is that where you're at now is cheaper, perhaps you shouldn't complain if that is your first priority. I never had this happen to me at Yellow.

less riderships but still we have too many cabs in this city, drivers doing road rage to steal fares is a daily thing you see on streets.

I just lastnight saw one yellow driver getting bumped in behind by a carrige cab when the carrige cab tried to steal the fare that was to be picked up by a yelloe cab. drivers are now risking to lose $500 accident damage just to get a 5$ fares. drivers getting ticketed by cops for excessive speedings.

there is always 10 cabs infront of you and 10 behind you when you are on streets and almost all empty.

this city seems to have more cabs than private cars.
drivers can barely make $50 a day.
i have been doing this job for 12 years and soon i am working at walmart.
It sucks to be a cab driver these days!

you get beaten up by public on job. you are being challenged by many new unprofessional cab drivers on streets. you cant make $50 a day and many unfair city ordinances.