Looking back four decades, I feel bad to see the iconic Yellow Cab drive into oblivion. My first time driving a Yellow Cab was in 1975 when I became a part-time cabbie in Edmonton. Yellow Cabs, then a solace for immigrants from South Asia were our first choice of independent employment offering a steady income and tips.
The job was a mix of fun and hardship as I had to navigate the streets of Edmonton speaking very little English and using hand maps. Often, I had to rely on my passenger to provide me directions! Yet, I persisted as my part-time gig would get me over $100 in one weekend shift and I loved the trips, especially those to and from the airport as most passengers were decent people.
On rare occasions, I would encounter drunkards, some of whom were extremely polite, but some were racist and would say “Paki go home!” Those who were tipsy gave me generous tips mostly out of sympathy for this young immigrant from a far-off land.
On some days I saw crazy passengers who would jump out of my car and start running without paying, especially at stop lights. They would run away, and I knew it would be futile to chase them.
Yellow Cabs were addictive, especially to Indian and Pakistani immigrants who arrived in the early seventies. For many, it was an easy escape to make quick money, make their own hours, and do a routine gig that did not require any specialized skills. I often met highly qualified engineers and other well-educated people driving Yellow Cabs and I would ask them why they could not find better paying jobs. Most of them told me they were content as Yellow Cab drivers as it offered a steady source of income, they had to pay no taxes, and all the tips they got was a value add.
I, on the other hand, was looking for my next thing as I did not want to settle to be a cabbie. I stayed in this business for around two years and was determined to move ahead and not get stuck in an addictive, run of the mill operation. While taking passengers to the richest parts of town, I would envy the huge, palatial homes and wished I could own one of them one day and clearly knew that driving a cab would not get me there.
However, people who owned Yellow Cab permits or medallions, the aluminum plate required to drive a yellow taxi in places like New York, were the real winners making money by renting their cars to drivers like me. In their heydays, a medallion could be easily sold for over a million dollars but now hardly fetches anything. There were dynasties built around medallion owners in New York and other big metros.
However, the pandemic and the arrival of ride hailing services Uber and Lyft has decimated this once-thriving industry. “Nearly a dozen drivers have taken their lives in the past few years, suicides of both despair and protest,” says an article in Curbed. Most had taken hefty loans to purchase medallions but realized that the return on investment was dismal.
Looking back, I made a timely wise choice of not getting addicted to the first, easy thing that came my way. Several of my friends who drove Yellow Cabs with me were still doing it having not seen much rise in incomes. I do not know much about their fate today with the company’s bankruptcy in most places.
A big life lesson I learned from driving the Yellow Cab was that I knew it would just be temporary. I had to persevere, look for new opportunities, follow my passion, and change with the times. Keep in mind that the easy route will not take you far! Stay Blessed.
Disclaimer
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. Further, I make no warranty regarding the accuracy or effectiveness of my recommendations, and readers are advised to consult other advisors as well as their own judgments in making business decisions.
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