What is this “medallion” I hear about in the context of NYC taxi cabs? Apparently these things are quite valuable costing on the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars or something, but I have no clue what they are. Being a cheapskate, I prefer the subway and take cabs extremely rarely, so I’m not up on the taxi lingo.
IIRC a medallion is a “licence” that allows the owner to operate (or more likely sublease) a cab in NYC.
It is, essentially, a government-imposed restraint of trade that increases the cost of hacking by restricting the supply of cabs.
Not surprisingly, the value of this “rent-seeking” device is quite high.
dos centavos.
It’s the big piece of plastic stapled to the hood – surely you’ve seen them? That’s the physical “medallion.”
It’s the manifestation of the license that allows the proper owner (or his designee) to operate that taxi in the city of New York.
(Hey, Nixon, does your dislike of licenses extend to doctors?)
Nixon did not say that he was opposed to licenses. It is the artificially low supply that is objectionable. If anyone could qualify for one as long as they met the requirements (like with doctors) then there would be no problem. As it exists now, the government controls the number of licenses that are available so the cost of a license can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This means that cab rates are naturally inflated over what the market would create under the principles of free trade.
Will there ever be a “NYC” thread that I don’t reply yo. Ahh, such is my lot…
Anyway, here’s my post to a very similar thread we had here in GQ about a year ago:
*"I don’t want to derail this thread, but in answer to jmullaney’s Q about taxis, you’re confusing a “hack license” and a “medallion” (not pendant). The license goes to the driver, the medallion goes to the vehicle (that is, it’s owner). At least that’s the set-up here in NYC.
No one cares how many hack licenses there are (a fact that’s pretty apparent when you see who’s got them). But they do care about how many cabs are on the road, so they limit the number of medallions.
And a medallion really is a medallion – it’s this pancake-sized plastic-looking plate with raised lettering and graphics that’s bolted to the hood of the cab for all the world (and the T&LC inspectors) to see.
Back in my not-so-glorious youth I seem to remember them being very impressive: somber and official-looking and made of metal – like a big bronze Olympic medal. Then the “Big Apple” craze hit in the 70’s or 80’s, and they were changed to gaudy red, apple-shaped plastic slabs. The apple phase passed, but it was too late too go back; today’s version is more subtle, but still tacky."*