Taxi Drivers to get 10 Million Dollar Break-TOO LITTLE TOO LATE

Taxi Drivers to get 10 Million Dollar Break and Loan Safeguards, reported by New York Times on June 12, 2019-IS THIS RELIEF TOO LITTLE TOO LATE!
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The New York Times reported on June 12th 2019, that's facing ruin, taxi drivers to get 10 million dollar break and lone safeguards.
While 10 million dollars sounds like a lot of money, in this author's opinion, that 10 million dollar break and loan safeguard will have little impact or benefit to the average Taxi Medallion owner, who owns an “under water” taxi medallion.

The article further stated that Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a separate set of initiatives: The city is eliminating as much as $10 million in fees to taxi medallion owners, and drivers will be able to obtain financial counseling from a new “driver assistance center.”
The mayor said that he would extend the city moratorium on
approving additional vehicles from ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft for another year.

The fee waiver would aid all owners of the city’s 13,500 taxi
medallions, including large fleets, which operate about half of cabs. It would exempt them from paying $1,100 renewal fees due this year or next.

While any waiver of fees would be appreciated by the beleaguered taxi medallion owners, it is this authors opinion that the waiver of $1,100 renewal fees for this year and next year is a drop in the bucket compared to the financial problems facing under water taxi medallion owners.

It is this author's experience, that the average taxi medallion owner
owes approximately $500,00 to $600,000 in loans, on a medallion
that is now worth approximately $165,000, based on the latest TLC data, so the savings of $1,100 in renewal fees will have little to no financial impact on the troubled taxi medallion owner.

Additionally, the ability to obtain financial counseling from a new
driver Assistance Center, while admirable is too little and too late for most taxi medallion owners, who owned under water taxi medallions.

Moreover, extending the city moratorium on proving additional
vehicles for ride-hailing services has not helped increase the value of existing taxi medallions. Taxi medallions are either continuing to fall or have stabilized at an extremely low price, so the city moratorium has had and will have little impact in increasing taxi medallion values and will provide little relief to taxi medallion owners.

These benefits, while providing good PR for the Mayor and good
sound bites will have little impact on under water taxi medallion
owners-too little, too late! Jim Shenwick