Dear Fellow For-Hire Vehicle Stakeholder:
I know that these are trying times, and we have all been struck. What started off as news of a virus, seemingly no different than the common cold, has now turned into a worldwide emergency that is quickly transforming the situation into one of the gravest political and societal challenges of the modern age. Initially, most of us believed the effects would be short term and limited to those who became infected. Now, in only a short period of time, it has turned into not just mass isolation for purposes of self-preservation but is leading to disaster to those who have not been infected with the Coronavirus. In order to protect the health and safety of the residents of the City of New York, and the entire world, businesses have been forced to close and lay off untold numbers of people. Out of work, with no pay, limited availability for food and everyday supplies, like toilet paper and paper towels, can and is quickly leading some into despair. And rightly so.
The For-Hire Vehicle (“FHV”) industry in New York City (“NYC”) was already reeling from years of overregulation, unchecked growth of the marketplace, over saturation of the arena with new drivers, and what I call the “Uber Effect” (massive disruption of the FHV industry due to the entrance of the app companies). FHV drivers were already bringing home less and less money as well as spending more and more time on the road away from their families. Taxi medallion owners were already going bankrupt. Traditional FHV base owners were doing their best to keep their business afloat amid the loss of drivers to Uber and Lyft. Some were on the brink of going out of business. And this was all before the Coronavirus hit NYC.
Now that the Coronavirus has infiltrated NYC, as a precautionary measure, restaurants have been forced to closed, and the schools are shut down. People are afraid to come into contact with one another. Most of all, no one is travelling. The three NYC area airports are virtually empty which means FHV drivers and FHV bases have no one to transport. It is as if society has shut down and our elected leaders are trying to help take measures to stop the spread and contain the virus all while attempting to offer some relief to those affected the most.
In the meantime, we all have to put food on the table and pay the rent. How does one do this when you are essentially out of work? The bills you have don’t get paid on their own. For the over 100,000 FHV drivers in NYC, this is a recipe for disaster. Questions are coming in asking, “when will this end”, “what will I do in the meantime,” how do I feed my family when I have no work.” These are all genuine and valid questions. No one in the FHV industry is immune to the effects that this virus has caused. It is a vicious cycle. If an FHV base is not receiving calls, then drivers will have no one to transport. If drivers have no one to transport, then they will be unable to pay the rental on their vehicle or their vehicle loan. If a FHV driver cannot pay their vehicle rental, then the rental companies will not be able to pay their loan, thus a loss of the vehicle for the rental company and the driver. When will this cycle end? The reality is that no one knows for sure. Some industry experts are predicting as low as 2-3 week but potentially up to 2 to 3 months.
So, the real question is what do you do? I would like to believe some people have some savings to be able to weather the ill effects of having no income for a few weeks. But we all know that most in the FHV industry are lucky to still be operating, much less to have a savings account to weather this storm. No one could have prepared for this disaster. But there are steps you can take to help yourself. First, no matter what part of the industry you work in (a FHV base owner, FHV driver, FHV vehicle rental company, medallion owner), you have to all come together and work on this together. If you don’t come together as a team, then your chances of surviving this crazy situation will likely be bleak. Remember, there is strength in numbers. Remember, there are many others out there who are in the same situation as you. Most of all, you must take action and take it now.
If you have a vehicle lease, call up the vehicle owner work out some payment plan with them. If you have a vehicle loan, call up your bank/lender and ask for your payments to be deferred until the end of the term. Call your insurance carrier to see what your options are for an extension of time for payment. Use what credit cards you may have, make the minimum payment, and/or ask the banks to make an exception to their normal payment requirements. Reach out to your trade organization to see what they can do to help you, just as you will be asked what you can do to help others too.
People around the world who are employed are being laid off on a massive scale, but they have some short-term options like unemployment. As independent contractors, FHV drivers do not have the luxury of filing for unemployment. For years I have been an advocate of creating a system for the provision of benefits to FHV drivers and others in the ever-growing “gig economy.” Such benefits include medical, vision, banking services, disability, retirement, and individual savings accounts to be used for the proverbial “rainy day.” If this type of program were in place now, the stakeholders in the FHV industry would have a better fighting chance to weather this storm. It is precisely this type of benefits plan that I am working on providing to FHV drivers and other independent contractors. I will continue to do my best to make this plan a reality, so in the future, the FHV community has more of a safety net to fall back on when hard times hit.
While most of us have never been through anything like this, we have to remember that NYC and society, in general, has weathered its fair share of storms in the past. World War I, The Great Depression, World War II, The Oil Crisis of the 1970s, the Banking Crisis of the 1980s, the Dotcom Bubble/burst, September 11, 2001, and the Housing Market Crisis, just to name a few. Do what you have to do to survive in the short run but keep a positive outlook. We, as a people, have weathered many crises in the past, and we WILL survive this one.
As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at http://www.shankerlawfirm.com/questions
Sincerely,
Steven J. Shanker, Esq.