Last month, New
York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued a report on New York
City’s financial plan for FY 2018 through FY 2021. In the report, DiNapoli discusses NYC’s
repeated postponement of the sale of 1,650 medallions because of the weakening
market due to ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft, and NYC’s dubious assumption
that these medallions will sell for $728,000 apiece (while an auction held on
January 16th averaged about $175,000 per medallion).
A couple of observations about NYC’s financial plans with
respect to medallion sales:
1. No person or entity will pay $728.000 for a NYC
medallion!
2. Currently medallions are selling for approximately
$185,000 per medallion and a $728,000 selling price is unobtainable.
3. With the number of Uber, Via, and Lyft cars on the road,
there is no need for NYC to sell additional medallions!
4. In fact, maybe NYC should consider buying back existing
“under water” medallions from owners whose medallions are “under water” due to
Uber, Via, Lyft and NYC’s actions and inaction.
5. If NYC were to sell an additional 1,650 medallions, the
price of existing medallions will drop precipitously in value and will result
in a further decrease of existing medallion owners’ earnings.
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