The Incredible 2013 Taxi Saga Of Boston Cab And Edward J. Tutunjian: The Boston Globe's 2013 Spotlight Team's Investigation Into A Boston Taxi Company's Corruption And Driver Abuse & Plus 2 Post Scripts Dated 10/01/2026

Traveling Back in the Taxicab Time Machine to Boston and 2013: An Explanation as to Why and How the American Taxicab Industry Succumbed to Uber and Lyft 

Pardon the delay of over 13 years concerning the story of Boston Cab and owner Edward Tutunjian's decades of illegal and dishonest operations, a many faceted tale I was aware of when the news broke but since I wasn't a Boston Globe subscriber I was never able to access the reports and articles associated with this sorry narrative. Now due to a cheap one dollar subscription I have been able to go back and research much of what happened.  In addition to reading this, I encourage everyone to watch the 8 minute plus long YouTube video, "Driven to the Edge: A Globe Spotlight Team Investigation."  Not only do you get the gist of the story but it also shows taxi reality as it really is minus embellishment. I've watched it an number of times, and will again. Some of the driver's comments make me smile. Sadly, that is.

I know this story! In various ways I've lived it though not quite to the extreme experienced by the drivers in the video. I sent the video to my old Seattle taxi buddy Bill, and Bill responded by providing many examples of commonplace widespread corruption similar to what the Boston Cab drivers were complaining about.  He too was sometimes charged for the keys to his cab. That isn't nice. By the time I started driving, in 1987, Seattle taxi had become less feral, more civilized, a word I rarely associate with taxi. Nuts. Deranged. Crazy. Yes. But civil, no. 

Why I find the Boston Cab story relevant today is that it helps explain how an industry weakened by asshole owners and corrupt taxi associations were no match for Uber and Lyft and their politically powerful backers.  Yes, taxi barons like Tutunjian had one interest only, and that was making money. Though ultimately he was jailed and fined, he truly escaped real accountability for all the suffering he caused, his punishment amounting to a slap upon the wrist. As you read on, you will understand.  

The background to all this is that for years the Boston, Massachusetts taxi industry of 1,825 medallion-licensed cabs and over 6,200 cabbies essentially remained unregulated, allowing owners like Tutunjian to consolidate many medallions, in his case 372, creating his own taxi fiefdom, making him sole ruler and decision maker for hundreds of mostly immigrant cabbies. His was a cruel hand. 

The agency allowing the situation to fester was the Hackney Carriage Unit, a division of the Boston Police Department, and back in 2013, it was run by a Director of Licensing named Mark A. Cohen. You can see his mug in the video. You can guess my opinion of the "gentleman."  I know that face, having seen too many like it in Seattle's cab world, almost as if there was a factory somewhere manufacturing this line of sorry characters. 

Though what I have read so far doesn't say it, it seems very clear that Mister Cohen might have been in the "back pocket" of owners like Tutunjian. In 2013 Tutunjian was worth 250 million dollars, owning many properties and, if you can believe it, vineyards in Chile. Pretty good work for a Jordanian emigrant who started out driving cab himself. I am sure he might have been tempted to create a little favorable influence, so to speak "greasing" the taxi wheels. 

Helping in the Boston Globe's investigation was the reporter Robert Hohler, a once Boston cabbie during his college days, and now driving cab undercover. Unfortunately for him, his new tenure in the cab lasted a mere eight shifts, as he and two passengers were injured when a motorist ran a red light, demolishing his cab. Even though his return beneath the toplight was brief, it was long enough to witness various violations at Boston Cab regarding the drivers. 

If you wanted to drive a shift, you had to pay the guy issuing the keys a bribe of $5-20.00. No bribe, no cab that shift. Another scam was charging driver's extra for gasoline even though the returned cab had a full tank. The most egregious violation Hohler experienced was the end of shift depositing of your taxi lease payment contained in a zippered pouch pushed through a pay slot in a wall. He heard many drivers complaining that money was stolen, then later forced to pay once again, their pleas of innocence ignored.  Though it was required by the City of Boston to provide a receipt, none were ever issued. As one driver says in the video, "If you asked for a receipt, you would not get a cab tomorrow." Essentially, the cabbies were under Boston Cab's "thumb," and if you complained, no cab for you. Who says versions of modern day slavery doesn't exist?  

Another issue that got the Boston Globe's attention is that Boston's cabs were allowed to carry minimum insurance coverage, the investigation providing many examples of accident victims receiving little benefit and relief once injured. While all this was bad, what finally nabbed Tutanjian in 2016 wasn't all his illegal behavior but tax evasion, somehow finagling payroll taxes into his own pocket. 

Tutunjian, the "Taxi King" as the media called him, was sentenced to 18 months in a Federal halfway house, plus two months probation. In addition, he was fined 2.3 million dollars. But don't shed a tear for the fellow because, in 2017, he sold his entire operation plus some valuable associated property for $145,000,00. That right, one hundred-forty-five million dollars. 

As for a final conclusion to this tale, I don't know it, other than Tutunjian remains a very rich man, his fortune made off the blood, sweat and toil of hard working cabbies.  What Boston Cab looks like today I also have no idea.  As everyone in Seattle knows, the year 2014 and the legal validating of Uber and Lyft changed our industry forever. I can only guess the same was true in Boston.  

The moral here is that a poor combination of greedy owners and dysfunctional regulatory oversight opened the Uber and Lyft floodgates in Boston and elsewhere.  Once the dam burst, most cites were inundated by the TNCs. While Seattle never had someone as awful as Tutunjian, we did have our more diluted versions, though our devils look like angels when compared to the evil Tutunjian. 

I can say to this moment I remain on good terms with our mostly retired disreputable former owners. While their primary objective was making money, at least BYG (Seattle Yellow Cab) ran a pretty good operation, keeping the cars maintained while keeping our lease payments (the nut) down to a reasonable amount. And we always got receipts.  But I will always see that "fill-in-the-blank"  GM Dogwilla walking down the hallway like a giant bowling ball, knocking us out of place like so many bowling pins. Did he even notice?

Were all the driver's happy?  No but if you were savvy and worked hard, you made a good living. Yes, we did make some of the big medallion owners millionaires but personally, I didn't care. Everyone made their choices. I made mine, a driver toiling beneath the toplight in the early morning light and dead of night! That's right!

Waymo likes Vegetables?

Recently a wayward Waymo in Denver drove into a Farmer's Market while vendors were setting up  their stalls in the early morning hours. As usual, Waymo was full of excuses. What if a Waymo drives into a meat market, what are we going to hear from them? Baloney!

In CA, Someone is Filing Suit against Cab Companies picking up Uber Fares

Some might know that some cab associations are serving Uber overflow. A guy from New York State accused the cabbies and Uber of price-fixing.  Right now they are arguing over court venue.  But cabbies, don't you know Uber is poison?  Watch who you rub elbows with. 

Red Tesla Back After Arrest

A few nights back, excited friends called to tell me they saw the driver arrested and car towed away. He was arrested for driving down the wrong way down a street, suspected of driving drunk.  But a mere three days later he was out of jail and back at it. What is it going to take to stop this guy? 

A Very Short History of Taxicab Regulation 

Consider this a Post Script to the Boston Cab tale, because what happened there, and the exploitation of the drivers directly points to a poor regulatory system and environment where oversight of ownership and association was notably absent.  If anyone wondered why the Boston Police Department were the local regulators, all we have to do is to fly ourselves across and know that the vaunted London Black Cab industry was regulated, from 1850-2000, by London's Metropolitan Police.  It only took them 1 1/2 centuries to transfer power to something called Transport for London (TfL). 

In Seattle, regulatory oversight has been given to the Consumer Protection Division (CPD) of the Seattle Finance Administrative Services (FAS). I don't know what is happening in London but in Seattle, not one of the nice guys occupying those chairs have ever driven a cab.  As I have repeated in these pages ad nauseam, if taxicab veterans had been employed at FAS in 2014, the response to Uber and Lyft would have been very different. But when your duties only include cabs as a part of your larger responsibilities, how surprising is it that cabs fell to the wayside? 

If you think my premise is wrong, think about what happened in NYC when the City of New York began selling taxi medallions for up to one million dollars.  Anyone with any kind of taxi industry knowledge  knows instantly that was pure fantasy. 

When I was in NYC in 2010 and visited a taxi brokers office, they offered me a medallion for $725,000 or two at the "bargain" price of $675,000 each. Outrageous but it all boiled down to one simple fact: no one for a moment cared about the impact, asking a cab driver to pay off that kind of mortgage. Even the best of us high-rollers would have an impossible time paying how much per month for the cab?

One example of how crazy all this was, if someone made payments of $20,000 per year on a $725,000 medallion, not including interest, it would take over 36 years to pay it off. What about a medallion costing one million dollars? 50 years.  

Another way to calculate all this is to consider how many working hours driving a cab, grossing $30,00 an hour, would it take to earn that $20,000? A week has 168 hours. Multiply it by 4 weeks and you come up with 672 hours.  All I can say is, drive a 12-hour shift and tell me how you feel after it.  That's the entire story, Mister Pain and No Glory!

Summing up the obvious, it is clear that across the over one-hundred year plus history of American cab, our industry has been poorly regulated. And with the advent of Waymo, regulators are preparing for our final demise, digging the grave to shove us all in. Don't believe that?  Well, Mister and Mrs and Ms Ostrich, think again!

Some Taxi FUN! Facts

Both innovations came to the taxi world from Germany. In 1891 Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Bruhn invented the first taximeter. And what were they installed on?  Horse-driven taxi carriages.

But changes were coming. In June 1897, in Stuttgart, Germany, you could catch a lift on a Daimler Victoria, the world's first motorized-powered, taximeter generated cab. I was in Stuttgart in June 1991. I didn't take a cab but found myself eating delicious German sausages at the train station's restaurant, washed down with one of the best glasses of beer I have had the pleasure of quaffing, a pilsner with a foamy head like meringue. The only German taxicabs I've taken have been in Duesseldorf in April 1982, my first excursion  to Europe.

10/01/2026 PS # 1: Four NYC Cabbies Die in the Past 4 months

The Online Website "The Gothamist" featured a story reported by Ramsey Khalifeh outlining the troubled deaths of cabbies dying either in or near their taxicab this summer.  Pressure to do the impossible, with drivers having taken on weekly $800-1200. weekly buy-to-own taxi contracts, is literally killing the drivers. All this is complete absurdity.  If your weekly payment is $800. your yearly totally is $41,600. If paying $1200. per week, your yearly total is $62,400. 

I'm telling everyone, I couldn't meet this kind of financial demand. It would take a driver working 365 days straight to pull it off. I blame the City of New York for allowing this.  Here are the names of the four ill-fated drivers:

Babacar Dem, found dead in a restaurant bathroom. Dem was undergoing kidney dialysis three times a week while trying to make his $800.00 payments.  Madness!

Khalifa Siwa, a diabetic, was found dead in his cab, insulin pen in hand. This past July he also had a stroke, leaving him with facial paralysis, and still, he was driving. Why?

Richard Coulibaly, died during the summer heatwave from a combination of high blood pressure and heart disease. He was 73. 

Jagit Singh died from a heart attack. He was the only one who owned his medallion outright, not that it did him any good. All those years paying off his medallion probably killed him. 

The article talks about how the taxi business has declined since the arrival of Uber and Lyft. There are now 84,000 TNCs operating in NYC. Yellow cabs are down to about 10,000.

These deaths are attributable to the City's regulatory failures. NYC has blood on their hands.  This cannot continue! 

PS #2: Yellow Cab Driver finded $1000. for Not Turning on Meter

I am angry. This is complete bullshit. This kind of crap after the City of Seattle keeps allowing "gypsy cabs" to operate with impunity, endangering passengers while operating without insurance coverage. How does not turning on the meter endanger anyone?  I am furious that the City of Seattle and King County are jacking the cabbies around. Enough!

Poem (sort of)

It's no fun

driving taxi in the dark

or in the daylight sun

driving like a madman

day and night

so ya what to know something buddy?

none of this is right

what would I'd rather be doing?

why flying a kite

high in the sky

never having to ask a question

of any bird flying by

why do I have to

cry

It's September---Seattle Cabbies: Time To Attack! Before It Is Too Late When There Will Be No Turning Back! & It Is A New "Wild West" Of Gypsy Operators & Expensive Gas In Seattle & Iranian General Trusts Cabbies Over Trump & Martha Stewart Doesn't Like Taxis & Book Review: "Fighting Traffic---The Dawn Of The Motor Age In The American City" by Peter D. Norton

Attack Cabbies! Attack! Before Local Regulators and Waymo Tie You to the Torture Rack---A New Inquisition!

The torture rack is an apt description of what is being done to the local Seattle/King County taxicab community. The torture rack, for all you devote Roman Catholics out there, was a rectangular wooden device with rollers at both ends used to stretch out a victim's body, something popular in Europe during the 15th-18th centuries, often connected to what is known as the Spanish Inquisition, when fatally questioning someone's faith was popular.  Whether completely intentional or not, this is what is being done to you Seattle and King county taxicab drivers, stretching out your business model until it has thinned to the point of nonexistence. And will your screams be heeded by your anointed torturers?  Not at all, saying you "Unholy practitioners of an Unholy art" deserve to be banished from the face of the transportation earth. And what will be your response?

To take the offensive then can be your only option. Part of that strategy, and only part, will be signing the petition that is currently in circulation, telling the City and County to reinstate the retired medallions and to make all the medallions real property. Please understand that this is only step one in regaining your rights as small business owners. Other necessary steps will be for each individual to contact City and County regulators, along with the Seattle Mayor, the King County Executive and all of the sitting City and King County Council members. 

On the Washington State level, you must tell the governor about your concerns. In addition, contacting your local Federal representatives in the US Congress and US Senate will assist in your gaining attention. While yes, I can and will do this, I am at this point only one lone voice. If I register as an official industry lobbyist, that will help but most importantly are your thousands of voices waiting to be heard. 

Again, your participation is essential. Without your participation, your ability to earn a living will disappear. Understand that across the vast waters of the Atlantic Ocean, that most established bastion of taxicab prowess, the London Black Cab, is now under threat by the  same forces threatening you. Waymo and others care little to nothing about traditional taxi. Money is their goal. And their mantra is "Death! Death! to you cabbies! to the rack you go! Die! Die! Die! And we don't have to tell you why. You are filth, destined for the pig sty!"

While this all might sound melodramatic, there are companies out there with tens of billions of dollars endorsing new technology, that if successful, will not only eliminate 90% of American taxis but also eliminate human-driven Uber and Lyfts. As said, your only good option is to counter-attack. War has been declared, and you must defend yourselves. The battle has begun. 

Its Wild! Out There Folks! 

It is a "bang, bang shoot 'em all up world" out there in the City of Seattle, where it appears literally anyone can ply the city streets masquerading as a taxi or Uber, picking up passengers at will, and there is nothing and no one to stop you.  My intent with my mid-August posting was to stir up some real response from City of Seattle and King County regulators but no, the renegade Red Tesla remains out there, picking up minus any opposition. 

So go ahead, don't bother licensing as an official taxi or TNC (Uber/Lyft). Hell with that! Just jump in your car  and start patrolling the downtown streets, soliciting as you go. You can even over charge your customers. There is no one stopping you. Sure, if you have an accident with a passenger in your car, there will be consequences but you can be assured that legal proceedings will take years. 

So live it up! you gypsies you! It is no longer 2026 but 1886, lasso those people walking down the street, why it's a transportation rodeo---Yippy kai yay kai yay!  there is nothing more left to say!

$5.00 for a Gallon of Gasoline is Cheap?

A taxi buddy told me he filled up for fifty dollars, getting ten gallons.  That's at a "bargain" gas station. The cheapest here locally I've seen is $3.67.9.  Two months into Trump's war with Iran, US drivers had already paid nearly 45 billion dollars more in gasoline cost than previously expected. Four months on since, I hate to think how much we have needlessly paid overall. The oil companies are making record profits, something like $460 million daily. Maybe time to buy Exxon stock. Or explore digging an oil well in your backyard. 

A Mixed Endorsement: Iranin General Likes Cabbies

It would be kind of funny, the General's statement, if the situation of the war against Iran wasn't so damn serious but the Iranian general Mohammad Reza Naqdi, in reference to President Donald Trump, said something that is obvious to any one paying attention. Here is his quote:

"When he says something, he doesn't even think about what will happen 24 hours later.  His statements have no foundation or consistency. I trust a taxi driver much more than I trust him." 

I can only hope that the next time the good general rides in a taxi he gives the cabbie a good tip! But on the other side of the equation, Mister General, can the taxi driver trust you, you whose job it is is to deliver death and destruction?  Perhaps you are not the best judge of character. 

Martha Stewart Teaming Up with Waymo

In what might seem to be a kind of comedy, Martha Stewart is calling Waymo's newest AV vehicle, the Ojai an "home away from home."  Let's hope it doesn't become for her a "casket away from the cemetery," somehow involving her in a fatal accident. What I find puzzling is that Waymo is using an electric AV made in China, given that Chinese made EVs are currently banned for sale in the US. How is that happening in a "Trump I Hate China" world?

Stewart is not kind when talking about taxis, saying a New York Yellow Cab puts its passengers in a crowded back seat behind a glass barrier with few amenities. "It's a pretty horrible experience."  Her remark borders on the nonsensical. Taxi is all about efficient transportation, not serving passengers a three-course meal. What is she talking about?

At least she didn't make any comments about the cabbies themselves but I am sure she would not like their wardrobes, us cabbies not affording to shop at Walmart where you can find her latest fashion offerings, Martha Stewart "high-class" all the way, or Waymo, that is. 

But upon truly close examination, Stewart's assessment is farcical, wanting everyone to believe that the Ojai is a kind of AV motorhome you would never want to leave. Maybe what her endorsement really says is that she and perhaps anyone has a price. Pay me enough and I will be your talking parrot.  Martha, would you like a cracker?

Read How America Became Car Crazy: "Fighting Traffic---The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City" by Peter D. Norton, MIT Press, Paperback edition 2011

Why this book is so important, and I believe essential reading, is that it builds the story, brick by brick on how the United States became a car-centric nation, with cars claiming ownership of our city's streets. It is a crazed evolution, going from children using streets as their playgrounds to what I saw recently in Phoenix, Arizona: deranged drivers flying down the local freeways at 90 mph, heedless of the danger to themselves and others. Norton's well researched book tells the story of how we as a nation got to this kind of questionable scenario. 

Once upon in America, back in the quaint olden days in the 1890s up to the mid-1920s, US city streets were viewed correctly as shared public property owned not by automobiles or by government but by a shared citizenry laying claim that streets were an essential public asset of every America neighborhood. But as cars gained popularity, the power dynamic shifted, automobiles and their backers literally shoving the pedestrian off from the streets, as a rural-centered nation became urban-centric, commerce and moving products swiftly down the road gaining priority over all other claims, progress, that New American religion overtaking all other contrary beliefs. 

In some ways, this transition made perfect sense, this great transition from  horse-propelled transportation to a motorized one entirely reasonable.  Why trot when instead one could roar down the roadway?  The same can be said with the airplane versus the train, railroads in 19th century America all important to the development of a trans-continental nation.  But with the advent of aeronautics, especially the jet age rising in the early 1960s, boarding an jetliner in San Francisco bound for New York City far more sensible, 5-6 hours in the air compared to a 3-4 day-long train journey. 

Norton's book is very comprehensive, and one might say, even obsessive in detail, telling how auto clubs, then Chambers of Commerce became the force behind the change that we live today. It is a story of how influence and manipulation imprinted the very roadmap in the societal, cultural brain that gained mass acceptance, with people saying "Yes, this is what I want," when without this pressure campaign, opinion  might have weighted quite in another direction. 

There are prominent figures in the book but one of my favorites is William Phelps Eno, a self-styled eccentric traffic safely advocate, formulating his "Rules for Driving" in 1903.  Yes, Eno is responsible for the first driving manual. Given the prevalence of accidents at intersections, Eno developed the left hand turn, training drivers to maintain a given lane.  

The book, all 262 dense pages of it, provides the reader with an easily understood overview of how America went from mowing down scores of innocent children playing in the streets to our modern cloverleaf freeways. If you can believe it, America's freeway system was developed to remedy roadway deaths, making for a safer alternative. We know how that worked out.

At least by reading Norton's book, you will be a wiser student to how America became what it is today. I am certainly a byproduct of that "hit the road" mentality that overtook the country, beginning especially in the early 1950's, with my father propelling us year after year across the USA in our green 1952 Buick Roadmaster.  Driving by age 12, I was navigating freeways at age 14.  It all seemed so natural of a transition, something instilled by design, intentionally making our car crazy culture appear normal. For years the US averaged over 50,000 traffic-related deaths every 12 months. That was, or is normal?

A Special Mid-Month Edition---A Real Life Dilemma That Isn't Fictional: "The Strange Case Of The Phantom Red Tesla: The Kidnapping Of The Unsuspecting"

 Arthur Conan Doyle Would Be Proud!

Not an illuminated hound roaming Dartmoor bogs but a bright red Tesla haunting Pioneer Square streets and avenues posing as a taxicab luring the unaware into his trap, then overcharging passengers again and again while City of Seattle and King County inspectors and regulators look on, somehow frozen in place, victims screams and shouts and cries for help forever unheeded, the devilish red Tesla telling everyone to "go to hell! go to hell! smoke and brimstone covering my trail! go to hell Seattle! go to hell! You cannot stop me, I will never fail!"

Ah yes, have we somehow been transported back to Victorian England, where bumbling authorities stumble upon themselves, where the likes of Jack Stapleton and Professor Moriarity outfox everyone except that relentless sleuth Holmes, somehow outwitting his adversaries and winning the day?  Perhaps we have, and it might take Mister Taxi "me myself and I" to fly up and capture the lout terrorizing innocents not detecting evil intent, like an avenging angel from above I will be sent!

So it goes his name and game is known, his car too they readily see but day after day, week after week, month after month, Mister Red Tesla remaining free.  Is he a criminal?  Yes!  A societal pest?  Yes! 

But still he roams night after night, rising from the gloaming as a yellow sun sets, never caring but much harm is done, why for him its all great fun, as even it is told he carries a gun, intimidating cabbies, shouting: "Run! Run! Run! HA HA HA!"---" the City and County doesn't care! Here see my knife! Let me slice your throat! Trim your hair! the football and baseball stadiums my personal home and lair!  All the business is mine: Unholy Beelzebub my Protector and Saint in transportation Crime, and I will keep stealing fares to the end of time!"

"As the ringing bells chime chime chime!" 

Greetings From Phoenix, Arizona: Hey Seattle/King County Cabbies! You Have A Good Month Or More To Sign The Petition, It Is Past Time To Claim Your Real Identity & New Federal AV (Waymo) Legislation Introduced

It is Very Hot in Phoenix

It's a new experience, living somewhere where the temperatures sometimes reach 120 F, but perhaps worse are the night time lows, averaging in the 90s F.  Usually one can expect cooler temperatures at night but not during this heat wave. I find it bizarre living in a refrigerated world. Without air conditioning, Phoenix and much of Arizona would be uninhabitable. But here I remain for two more weeks, having completed the first half of four total weeks of prostrate cancer proton radiation treatments at the Mayo Clinic here, my diagnosis coming earlier this year.  The care provided is very professional, certainly the best traditional medical care I have experienced. Obviously then, if you are dealing with a potential life-ending condition, I suggest you check out a Mayo Clinic closest to you.  I originally began my investigations into cancer treatment at the cancer center closest to me in Silver City, New Mexico but decided that proton therapy offered at Mayo to be a much better option.  One major plus for me is that Phoenix has a very good Chinese restaurant, Great Wall Cuisine, located at 3446 West Camelback Road.  Great dim sum!

 Hey Everyone! It isn't Wise or Smart to Commit Opperational Suicide 

On first reports received, some have declined to sign the petition. Why?  Since I know all of you well, and the countless excuses often provided for not taking care of yourselves, I need you to understand that this petition effort might be your last opportunity to stop the bleeding that will ultimately lead to your local cab industry being dead and buried minus a coffin.  

By reversing decisions made by the City of Seattle and King County, you are literally retaking control of your own lives, a life that is tenuously held at arms-length by government bureaucrats and regulators who are getting big salaries and making decisions for you while you work your butt off in the cab. As you know better than me, you now find yourselves working harder than ever, picking up the crumbs leftover from Uber and Lyft.  You should read your situation as for what it is: a red flashing warning light that something is very wrong. 

Thinking that taxi, as you now know it, will remain is more than foolish, it is pure fantasy. Just as the Seattle and King County taxi industry was flushed down the toilet in 2014, the hand is on the handle to do it once again. Waymo is going to come in and run you over. Uber and Lyft will be switching to autonomous self-driving cars, jettisoning all their drivers, eliminating that option altogether. 

What I am attempting to do with the petition is to build a legal dyke preventing the future flooding of your worksite that is Metropolitan Seattle and King County. Business can be brought back but it will take your cooperation. Lying down and dying is not the answer. You might have heard the popular idiom/saying: "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink."  What it means is that you can provide opportunity but you cannot force someone to take it. 

When driving here in the great American Southwest, where I am now, you often see signs warning "Last Chance Gas!"  suggesting that if you are not careful, you will be left stranded in the middle of the burning desert surrounded by spiny cactus.  Same here, guys!  Fill up those petitions now or find yourself taking to desert coyotes, asking, "What the hell do I do next?"  Howling along with the coyotes might be fun but it won't fill your gas tanks or feed your families.  We need at least one thousand signatures. Don't delay. Make the scoundrels in government pay!

Congressman Kevin Mullin, Democrat Representing San Mateo, CA Introduces New Federal Legislation Imposing New Regulations Governing Waymo

It is called the "AV Emergency Response Coordination Act," which sets standardized procedures for AV companies when AVs encounter emergency responders like police and fire fighters. A series of incidents occurring nationwide prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to put Waymo on formal notice, calling the incidents unacceptable. In addition, "high-speed" operations on freeways were temporarily suspended on May 19th, stopping service to San Jose and San Francisco airports. Service has just been reinstated.  

Will this effort stop the fatality accident that I am predicting will stop all AV companies in the USA in their tracks?  No, I don't think it will.  It is inevitable.  Waymo and friends are going to kill one of their passengers in an accident. And when that happens, all hell will break loose. 

Book Review Coming in September

My intention was to have read the book by the end of July but no, it is "thick' reading, meaning I will have the review ready for my September post. It is another book by Peter Norton: "Fighting Traffic, The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City". In the meanwhile I suggest you look up a fellow named William Phelps Eno. Remember him every time you take a left turn. 

Peter Norton is the author of the book, "Autonorama," that I reviewed in the June blog post. If you haven't read that review yet, I suggest you go back and read it.  Peter Norton's knows his stuff. He really does. Someone to pay attention to, heeding his warnings and advice. 

Why Hasn't the City and County Stopped the Unlicensed Driver from Picking Up Passengers?

I just got a report this evening, this being Friday night July 31st, that the same rogue (bogus) person pretending to be a cab, remains free to endanger any passenger who steps into his red Telsa. Recently he was ticketed and fined $1000. but he failed to appear for a scheduled hearing. The man needs to be arrested and his car impounded.  Nothing short of that will stop him other than an accident in his uninsured car.  By allowing him to remain on the road, he is endangering everyone who gets into his car. If a serious accident happens, and a passenger dies, what will be the City and County's response?  I expect they will be held liable, which is obvious. I and others have notified City and County regulators about him. And here he is, still out there menacing Mariner fans as they leave the baseball game. Why!?

Postscript August 2nd: The parallels between Chistopher Nolan movie "The Odysssey and Taxicab

I was amused, which is why I am writing this, when I read an article how the Classics scholar Emily Wilson, known for a well received 2017 translation of Homer's poem, "The Odyssey, is being lambasted for writing critical commentary concerning the movie. In short, she said it missed the mark in every way known to her yet found the movie entertaining, hoping it will lead to more people taking the time to read the poem. 

Wilson is a serious scholar, and reads Ancient Greek, speaking Greek too. Nolan is a maker of movies, interested in creating entertainment. Wilson's goal is scholarship, providing to those who are interested a window into what is foundational to Western literature. While you might munch popcorn while reading "The Odyssey," you are reading with purpose instead of spending 172 minutes in an air conditioned theatre during this unusually hot summer. And the important point here is that Wilson knows much about ancient Greek literature while Nolan knows very little. 

I say this as a comparison to the reality we in the Seattle and King County taxi community know, with regulators and lawmakers making rules and laws for us while in reality knowing "squat" about taxicab, having not for a minute driven a cab. Being a nice guy doesn't qualify you. Like Wilson's knowledge of written Greek, we know the text that is taxi by heart, god knows it is written upon our souls.  And how did that happen?  By reading and observing taxi hour after hour turning into my case, 35 plus years. If my tongue too is often critical, now you know why. 

The good part of all this for me is that I will finally get to reading both "The Odyssey" and "The Iliad,"  instead of my many years of piecemeal reading.  And of course I will read Wilson's translations. Will I ever see the movie?  Doubtful. 

Petitions Will Be Coming. For "God's Sake!" Sign Them! & My Recommendations For The August 4th, 2026 Primary Election

Petitions are People Power: Power to the Long Stepped Upon Cabbie!

During a recent telephone conversation with Abdi Jama, my City of Seattle direct mayoral contact, he suggested more than once that more numbers are needed, meaning more participation from the greater Seattle/King County taxi community. Of course that is an obvious thought and goal, and to that end, expect to see two petitions being distributed for everyone to sign. One petition will be focused on getting all the retired taxicab medallions reinstated to their original holders. The other will ask for all the leased medallions (now regarded as intangible property) to be made into real, private property. My modest goal is a minimum 1000 signatures per each petition but more the better. I view this as a summer-long campaign, with petitions delivered to the Seattle mayor, the King County County Executive and to both the Seattle and KC councils sometime in September. Once they are delivered, let the serious negotiations begin. 

Consider the following as possible text language or rough drafts for the two petitions.  

Petition #1: The Issue: The Reinstatement of All Retired City of Seattle & King County Medallions 

We the undersigned request that the medallion retirement policy as stipulated by Seattle Municipal Code 6.311 be overturned and reversed, resulting in the return of all retired medallions back to their original owners, an action occurring no later than January 1st 2027

Petition #2: The Issue: The Transformation and Redefinition of All City of Seattle and King County Medallions from Leased (or Intangible Property) to Real Private Property 

We the undersigned request that the City of Seattle and King County reverse their long standing policy of leasing taxicab medallions (known as intangible ownership), instead making all Seattle and King County taxicab medallions real and private property not subject to revocation or cancellation 

_________________________________________________________________

As you can see, if successful, it will completely alter the dynamic and relationship with the City of Seattle and King County, making the industry more of an equal partner, ending what can only be seen as a subservient agreement where taxicab remains inferior and minus a real voice.  I want everyone to ask themselves why you would want this kind of one-down agreement to continue?  As I said last month, all so-called medallion owners need to admit they do not own anything. Again, a lease is not real property.  Reinstating all the retired medallions, and having your medallions become real and not theoretical property is all about empowerment, of gaining real control over your lives. What cannot be denied is that local government has not treated the local taxi industry with the dignity and respect required, instead treating everyone as wayward children. As you well know, you are grown adults and deserve to be recognized as who you are. Ask yourselves, "when is enough?"

Uber Comedy

Feeling much pressure from both government regulators and private investors, they have to decided to begin doing 99 year background checks on their drivers. How old are their drivers?  Silly, and stupid.

Consider these Candidates (Yes, I did the research) For the August 4th Primary

Admittedly, my choices are somewhat biased, with most of my favored candidates either from outside the usual political establishment or minority candidates though Cindy Ryu is an Olympia dinosaur. I once met her in passing. I liked her.  There was some kind of taxi-related vote and I was in Olympia along with other taxi folks.  She smiled. Most politicians growl when they see a group of cabbies!

I would say the vast majority of the candidates are mostly typical Seattle-lites: good people, perhaps flawed but still ultimately trustworthy.  I have supported Pramila Jayapal multiple times but think it would be a wonderful gesture to send Gwen Kirkland to Congress. Her election would certainly make many in the GOP uncomfortable. Jayapal, given her celebrity status, has an opinion piece in the current "The Nation" magazine issue.  Do I think Kirkland will defeat Jayapal. No.  Do note that some of these candidates are confined to North Seattle. Okay, here they are:

US Rep Congressional District # 7

Gwen Kirkland

Legislative District # 32 State Senator

Cindy Ryu

Legislative District #32 Rep Position #1

Jenna Nand

Legislative District #32 Rep Position #2

Imraan Siddiqi

King County Assessor

Dominique M. Scarimbolo

State Supreme Court:

Justice Position #1

Colleen Melody

Justice Position #3

Jaime Michelle Hawk

Justice Position #5

Sharonda Amamilo

Justice Position #7

Karim A. Merchant 

City of Seattle Council District #5 (5 Stars!)

Silas James

Seattle Municipal Judge Position #5

Garmon Newsom

City of Seattle Proposition #1 Property Tax Levy for the Seattle Public Library 

Yes  

(Consider this recommendation an asterisk * to my childhood experience relating to the bookmobile parked next to the Altura Drugstore in unincorporated Arapahoe County, Colorado, Summer 1963, when those wonderful women librarians fed this nine-year-old kid book after book the entire summer. They made me into the reader and writer I am, something I am forever grateful. Proof of this was a little girl's comment, once I was back in school for the fourth grade at Saint Pius the Tenth, and after being instructed to read out loud, this sweet classmate exclaimed unprompted, "how much better I was reading aloud." Her comment expressed many things, finding myself completely surprised someone, anyone was paying attention to me, having grown accustomed to my inherent loneliness and isolation, reading my escape from parental and adult dysfunction. 

Her observation is directly attributable to the many good librarian's kindnesses expressed toward a rough and tumble Todd's Trailer Court child desperate for something good in this crazy life, books that summer showing me sorrow wasn't always an expected outcome. Fast forward six months to January 1964,  finding my father broke and jobless, and all of us about to lose our mobile home and tossed out into the cold, a stark reality idling outside. Reading then was all I had sustaining me, my only foundation, my only stability.

While knowing the taxation in Seattle and King County is "out of wrack!" I will always support libraries. When considering your yes or no vote, I suggest you think about all the current nine-year-old kids--- poverty stricken and scared like I was---merely wanting to know and embrace life. Opening a book can and will do that, revealing worlds that otherwise wouldn't be known. I first learned about Machu Picchu in a book. In 2002 I actually found myself there, high up in the Peruvian Andes, never to this day forgetting what can never be forgotten. 

Those Colorado Summer 1963 days also led me directly to Saint Deiniol's Library (now Gladstone's Library) in Hawarden, North Wales, where having the good fortune of my poem, "to and fro," made part of a series that included the Victorians Christina Rossetti, John Clare, George Meredith, this in Feb 2000. 

Many reading this perhaps will not understand how much of an achievement that was but I can guarantee you that the ladies helping me in that long ago bookmobile would certainly have known, breaking out in applause for the snotty-nosed comic book waif I was. In a sense those librarians too were a trifle Victorian, old-fashioned and quaint yet wise, understanding the yearnings of children like me.)

PostScript--- July 3rd 2026, Subject: Russian Cabbies

Due to gasoline shortages caused by Russia's war on the Ukraine, 20% of the entire nation's taxi fleet have chosen not to hit the streets. Many gasoline stations are closed, with the ones staying open experiencing long lines that can last a full day. In occupied Crimea, the situation is very bad for the locals, with Ukrainian drones attacking fuel-laden tanker trucks and trains. All the Russian Black Sea tourists are staying home. 

PostScript---July 4th 2006, Subject: NYC Cabbie makes the Classical Music big time

The SiriusXm Classical Channel 78 is broadcasting listener's favorite all-time American classical music compositions, and Philip Glass, that famous once NYC cabbie has made the list, his "Violin Concerto #1" coming in at #72.  Try to listen to it sometime.  And that is not all, his "Glassworks---Opening" coming in at #47.  Glass is yet another example expressing that we workers "beneath the toplight" are more than the mere ruffians we are made out to be. While some of us might be scoundrels we are talented scoundrels. As I have been listening to the survey, two other Glass compositions have been voted into the Top 78.  I had no idea he was so popular. I do own one Philip Glass CD which I find interesting but is not a favorite. I've also heard that Glass is sometimes not very nice. Sounds like a cabbie to me!

 

The Unavoidable Issue The Seattle And King County Taxi Community Must Confront Is Their Taxicab Medallion Status: Will They Remain Leases Or Will They Become Real Property?

June Is Here---I Have Come to a Basic Conclusion About Seattle/King County Taxicab Medallions: A New Taxicab Manifesto  

While there are multiple reasons why 600 or more taxicab medallions entered an inactive status, with the majority of them now retired, one point for me has become tantamount: from the very beginning Seattle and King County taxicab licenses (now medallions),should never have been classified as revokable leases governed by the City and County. I don't know the history behind this, why the City and County didn't follow New York City's model and lead, making their taxicab licenses "private property" or "real property."  If they had, it would have allowed taxicab owners and associations to operate like the independent businesses they in reality certainly are, and not some bizarre form of indentured servitude subject to governmental whim. 

What is clear is that this slanted attitude, mandating that taxicab owners and associations must operate solely at the behest of local government regulators, explains why Uber and Lyft were allowed to invade our business sector minus barriers. Can you imagine Seattle and King County inviting Boeing's prime business rival, Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, to compete locally minus any restrictions, with the State of Washington passing laws accommodating Airbus, giving it a free pass? 

Obviously of course that would never happen but it is parallel to how Seattle/KC cabs were treated. While what happened in 2014, with the unfettered welcoming of Uber and Lyft possibly still occurring, it might have been different if everyone actually owned their licenses, legal resistance to their incursion holding a more solid basis and foundation, instead of what could be called at best a kind of ephemeral ownership. 

What all this means for current Seattle and King County medallion "owners,"is that in real terms you own nothing at all. It is "thin air." How does one own a lease?  A lease is not real property but instead an agreement that can be terminated at any time. Given that stark and legal reality, changes must occur to protect the monetary and time investments made by Seattle and King County taxicab operators.  

As evinced by the current retirement of medallions, new protections and changes must be put in place, never allowing this type of event to reoccur. First, all retired medallions must be un-retired and reinstated to their original owners.  And secondly, there must be a change in legal definition, transforming leased medallions into private, real property medallions, tossing the imaginary concept of intangible property rights into the bureaucratic waste bin where it belongs. I find the term insulting, implying that the human taxicab drivers themselves are intangible, somehow not quite real, only imaginary figures play acting in some kind of fictional reality. How in any way can that be declared acceptable, yet alone permanent? 

The Seattle and King Taxicab community must make the following declaration, that never again shall they allow themselves to be treated or seen as second class or worse business owners, maintaining that their rights and interests are equal to any other business, be it Boeing, Amazon or any other respected company.  No longer will we allow our local taxicab community to be trodden upon and ground into the bureaucratic dirt. It is time to stand up and say "No! Never again!"

Yes, Seattle cabbies, it is time to immediately grow up and resist, shouting out you are an important and vital part of Seattle and King County's transportation equation. Let your voices be heard, never again to be muted or silenced. Taxi needs you and Seattle and King County needs your taxis.  Make sure no one ever again forgets the  truth of what taxi is and alway will be: a prime and essential benefit to the greater Seattle community. Taxi now! Taxi forever!

If Jerry Didn't Know

Recently I talked with taxi buddy Jerry over the telephone, someone who first drove a Seattle taxicab way back in 1972, later holding many hats, including dispatch etc. For someone involved with taxi for over fifty years, we were both surprised to learn he had no idea that Seattle/King County taxi license/medallion holders were not in any way an owner of said medallions. That says it all, doesn't it, if someone as intimately involved as Jerry was in all things taxi, to not know that all the operators had was a lease to drive a cab and nothing else. For me it speaks to the lack of communication between the City/County and the taxicab community. One can only hope that will change. Could it get any worse?

Staying Safe in the Cab and What to do if All Hell Breaks Loose

Taxi buddy Karl told me he was helping a young woman to put on a cab, and this neophyte plans on driving nights. Either she is brave, dumb or naive but I am writing this for her and anyone new to the deranged world known as driving taxi. And everyone, please heed my words of protection wisdom. I know of what I speak!

While it is much to ask of a taxi green pea, an essential taxicab skill is having the ability to read who the passenger is as they approach your cab. You don't need surprises. You must know when trouble enters your cab, it being far too late once a gun is pressed against your head. I have a solution for that too but you want to avoid that kind of scenario at all costs. If you recognize that trouble is now sitting behind you, do not hesitate to say you know he/she is trouble and will not tolerate any nonsense. 

I found that talking directly to passengers can be helpful but always remember to stay calm, remaining polite. If it comes to it, stop and say it is time to go, to leave the cab. When making that decision, choose a location, if possible, with lots of people around, and if at night, adding a lighted location. An angry passenger is an unsafe passenger.  If argument ensues, leave the cab while calling 911. 

In other words, game players love to play games so don't go along with it. When stepping into your cab, always have your "set rules " firmly in your mind, and if someone steps over the line, you already know what you are going to do. The faster your response the better. I have stopped the cab even before some passengers have completed a first sentence, telling them sorry, no way Jose, you are out. They protest but they  know why the cab ride has been terminated, knowing full well they are the dangerous assholes I understood them to be.  All you have done is remind them of the obvious. Bad guys know they are bad. 

I never carried a gun or any other kind of weapon, knowing I had the ultimate weapon: my cab. If the very worst happens, and a weapon is presented, step on the gas flying through red lights shouting you will roll the cab, aiming for telephone poles, screaming for them to toss the gun or knife out of he window. 

Only once did I ever have do this, and believe me, it scared the hell out of the scoundrels, then suddenly braking in a busy intersection, throwing all the doors open. Obviously, always wear you seatbelt, and if you roll your cab, do it within a span of between 15-30 seconds, not giving them time to physically overwhelm you. The best defense is alway to act quickly, without hesitation. Those who hesitate end up robbed, injured or dead. 

Again, this is a last resort when it is very clear you are about to be murdered. Cabbies have a higher likelihood of being murdered than cops. During the mid-1980s in NYC, over 50 cabbies were murdered annually. The only good thing then NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani ever did, according to my thinking, was dramatically reduce the number of murdered cabbies. Thank you Rudy!

Another important point is to avoid all dead-end streets. It is nearly impossible to accelerate out of trouble if you are facing in the wrong direction.  If you find yourself on a dead-end street, do a quick U-turn.  Always make sure when stopping you have no obstacles blocking a quick escape.  Read my words more than once. They just might save your life. 

Progressive is Not Nice

At least in the State of Washington, the Progressive Insurance Company seems to be the primary taxicab insurer though that doesn't mean they like cab drivers. I have written in these pages how Progressive tried to blame me for an accident when parked stationary at a red light. Of course that is impossible but that not stopping the agent from siding with the deranged driver who shouted "I hope you are T-boned and die! I hope you die!  And what was my offense? None whatsoever, only waiting for the signal to turn green. 

I bring Progressive up due to how they have recently treated a friend of mine who was planning on putting a cab back on the road, this after a near three-year hiatus after being nearly killed when a fool driver plowed into the rear of his stationary Ford Crown Victoria at 60 mph.  If he been in a Prius he would be dead. 

And what did Progressive decide his new annual insurance rates should be?  $24,000 per year! Why?  Because they said they took a lost on the claim. What is the point of being insured if you are blamed for something not your fault?  Of course this making no sense but he gave up in despair and sold his medallion for next to nothing. He plans on suing Progressive and I hope he does. 

The Consumer Hotline number for the Washington State Insurance Commissioner is 800-562-6900. If Progressive is also screwing you, give a call and tell WA State office how much you don't love Progressive. The more complaints filed against Progressive the better. 

Book Review: "Autonorama, The Illusory Promise of High-Tech Driving" by Peter Norton, Island Press Books, 2021, 238 pages

If anyone is interested in the background and genesis of autonomous vehicles, this book is for you, essential history for both regulators and taxicab operators facing the upcoming tidal wave of robotic taxis. You will learn much concerning how America became car-centric or car dependent minus any and all better alternatives. The American obsession with cars and their domination over the landscape wasn't a complete given back 100 years ago, in the "Roaring 20's."  The reality we see today is a formulated one created by "motordom" (Norton's descriptive term) and its allies.  What Norton describes is the selling of a "bill of goods" directing an urban dependency upon cars, cars and more cars. 

After reading the book, you will find yourself a minor scholar, knowing much concerning the twists and turns building the reality we now drive upon at crazy, breakneck speeds. I bet you didn't know that the American interstate system, with construction beginning in 1956, was touted as a needed public service  reducing traffic fatalities and accidents, and not the perpetual chaos we now experience on the freeways.  It might be laughable but the humor in this case is very serious. 

The very first paragraph on page 1, beginning with the introduction, in a very real sense, says almost everything one needs to know about what cultural message that was being pushed. And pushed is about right, the American automobile industry doing everything it could to addict the American public to driving a car. 

My own father, needing a relief driver due to our crazy yearly moves up, down and across the American and Canadian landscape, put me behind the wheel when I was 12, providing me no choice but to the join the burgeoning cultural phenomena that were the tens of millions of fellow Americans flying down asphalt roadways. It did prepare me to drive a cab, zooming on freeways by the time I was 14. I did have a Province of Alberta learner's permit.  Even my law breaking father had his limits. 

Here is the quote from the intro entitled "Not If but When":

"Someday---and it may come surprisingly soon---a car maker will introduce a radically advanced automobile, and cash in on the giant market of tomorrow." So an American electronics firm seeks to entice automobile manufacturers' interest in its products. This advertisement depicts a high-tech future: Four smiling occupants of a driverless car travel a high-speed, zero-congestion highway, enjoying one another's company in comfort and safety. They face each other; none pays any attention to the road. Their geographic setting is nondescript; what matters are the fast vehicles and their relaxed occupants, the delay-free roadway; the unseen electronics that purportedly make this utopian future possible. In these respects, the promise is typical of countless others like it from the last decade. This example, however, is from 1958."

I found this to be a great opening, funny in a way, and indicative of what was coming. There are so many wonderful quotes and features that I find it nearly impossible to know what to include but I find this quote from page 226 especially applicable:

"A fully automated car is not actually smart, intelligent, or autonomous. It is the mindless extension of the humans who wrote the program that governs its decisions." 

Yes, something that is obvious but a reality Waymo and its friends don't want anyone to consider, their premise being their autonomous vehicle is smarter than you. A pompous view I must say, insulting to what humans can do and achieve.  A film I insist you watch on UTube is something produced in 2010, "2030 Xing!", a 12-minute video showing everyone what our mobility future would actually be in 2030. Watch it and be amazed. 

After viewing that, you might conclude that the future the technocrats want you to embrace is a sham, and yes it is, and yes it isn't.  If Norton's informative book has any failings is that it was published in 2021. I would love to see an updated version. Regardless I find it to be an invaluable tool to understanding the reality that is being foisted upon not only the USA but the entire world. 

And why is this happening?  As Peter Norton expresses over and over, it's about the "money, honey!" They want your money. The question remains whether all of us will be stupid enough to open our wallets to these capitalist charlatans.  I hope not.

The book is cheap. I found a brand new copy online for $5.00, making me wonder if it has been suppressed by those who don't want anyone to read the book. I am suspicious. I am not easily impressed but Peter Norton is one bright fellow. He would make one great cabbie!

Talking in the Cab: Essay Time Magazine May 25, 2026 Issue What We're are Losing by Talking Less by Markham Heid  

What every cabbie knows about is talking. The vast majority of passengers want to talk, talk, talk. And while everybody is talking in the cab, Americans are talking less.  The essay states that from 2005 to 2019, the average number of words spoken fell by 28%, meaning that in 2005 the average person uttered about 16,000 words a day but by 2019, the average was down to about 12,000.  The essay's premise is that this isn't a good trend, with people missing the benefits of human interaction,

For the cabbie, talking is a mixed bag. Talking certainly creates good tipping yet too often a passenger's conversation is simply irritating.  I never told a passenger "Would you please shut up!" but I have been tempted numerous times. And I can't remember how many times the talk in the cab went sour, making for some painful minutes. 

If I have a conclusion to make, it is that less talk is more. And yes, many passengers have found me a complete bore!  

And all I want is the ride to be over, with my beloved passenger quickly out of the door, never again to see them any more. 

Once certainly is enough!  You don't like my attitude?  Tough!

Silly Serious Poem

Waymo, Waymo

Why do you want to drive me around?

I am perfectly happy driving my own car

So what purpose can possibly be found

When  instead I have the ability to travel afar

Not needing you or anyone taking me

to a distant automotive roadway

Star!

Early For April, Late For May: A Report Concerning My Three Day Return To Seattle And The Five Meetings I Had Concerning The Retirement Of City Of Seattle And King County Taxicab Medallions

 Seattle is More Expensive that ever

It felt somewhat surreal returning to a city holding so many memories for me, first arriving in January 1973, and finally permanently departing in July 2024. Given that I now live in middle-of-nowhere southwest New Mexico, I was first struck, upon landing at Sea-Tac, how instantly I was surrounded by more people in the terminal than live in my general vicinity of San Lorenzo and the Mimbres River valley, no longer accustomed to shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow communication with my fellow human species. 

The inherent noice associated with the modern American urban environment is overwhelming. Better are birdsongs and the mooing of cows and dogs barking and the singing of our ever insistent winds. Urban life might contain what could be described as a kind endemic dissonance and disorientation, ultimately confusing all who share the city's cacophony, a mechanically blended distorted symphony of engines roaring, tires braking and buses rumbling down uneven streets, daily assaulting and numbing the brain. 

In a very roundabout way, that might explain the very genesis of why the medallions were retired in the first place: stress, a kind of mental psithurism, susurration rustling, impacting everyone involved, creating a amusement park bumper-car mentality of everyone indiscriminately banging into each other, causing unavoidable societal concussions, permanent injury to the fragile cognitive psyche.  And worse, one must pay "through-the-nose" for all this displeasure. There must be a better explanation than simple incompetence. One must have hope. And a prayer. 

The History

Before I report on my meetings, three solo and two comprised of taxi veterans, some history is necessary, some of which I am not clear upon, because it appears that some confusion emanates from 2014, when the City of Seattle and King County's appeasement with Uber and Lyft opened the TNC floodgates, inundating Seattle and King County taxi.  

One oft repeated comment I heard during my three days in Seattle from many is that " I believed I owned my medallion," which is far different from the City's view that it is a leased property subject  to governmental control and whim. Many claim to remember that back in 2014, in a compromise with the local taxi industry, they were issued permanent "real property" licensed medallions How can there be such a large discrepancy in memory?  

It clear that original documentation must be uncovered and examined to assist in any kind of coherent determination of what is true or not but it appears that what we are addressing is something called "intangible property rights," a kind of "real property" but then again, not at all, not the same "private property rights"  for instance, assigned to NYC medallions. 

If the Seattle/King County taxicab industry had really been paying better attention in 2014, maybe we would not have agreed so readily to what was being offered. I still laugh that the City conceded that cabbies would no longer have to look like waiters, clad in white shirts and black slacks. Now that was important!

My Five Meetings with City of Seattle and King County Regulatory and Policy Staff

Two Solo Meeting April 29th with Sean Bouffiou, Administrative Services Manager (RALS) King County  & Creagan Newhouse, Manager, Consumer Protection Division, City of Seattle

Both meetings were on the informal side. Sean Bouffiou, someone I have known for a number of years, met me on the morning of my arrival at Homestyle Dim Sum, 664 S. Weller Street, in Chinatown/ID.  Sean, along with Matt Eng, Port of Seattle, wrote the policy changes affecting the Seattle/King County taxi industry that were enacted in December 2023, some at the behest of the industry. These of course included the retirement of inactive taxicab  medallions.  

I would consider Sean a proactive advocate for the cab industry but of course he is focused on the government side of the equation. In a later telephone conversation I had with Sean, he clarified that in 2014, in the change from license to medallion, the paper and physical medallion fell into the category of something termed intangible property. 

Upon hearing that, it explained the confusion the vast majority most have had concerning the legal status of their taxicab medallions, to this moment not clearly understanding the status of what they consider their personal property. I want to remind everyone that Sean, Cregan and others are just following the legal guidelines provided for them. If there are changes to be made, and I believe there are, it is up to individuals that make up the Seattle/King County taxicab community to effect wanted policy changes.

Cregan Newhouse in the Afternoon, 3:30 PM, Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 Fifth Avenue 

I met Cregan in the Fifth Avenue lobby, where we then proceeded to negotiate the inner labyrinth that is the SMT to the Starbucks located within. Cregan, like Sean, is tasked with following the dictates created by the voted Seattle and King County elected representatives. Cregan is a sympathetic fellow, only wanting the best for cab drivers and the industry in general. 

Though we have had many email exchanges, this was the first time we were able to personally meet, coming to the conclusion we were similar characters. Cregan once aspired to be WA State governor, having run unsuccessfully in a primary. I don't know if I voted for him but certainly I would in the future. Consider Cregan as a good resource for those trying to untangle the puzzle of what to do when your inactive medallion is retired. 

Group Meeting, 2:00 PM April 30th with the City: Abdi Jama, the Mayor's Special Advisor on Immigrant and Refugee Affairs & Kerem Levitas, Senior Labor Policy Advisor

Taxi Attendance: Myself, Solomon Alemneh, Parminder Tiwana, Kasem Novan, Mohammed A,, Karl Porter

The meeting with the City was mostly informational, as 2014 is nearly ancient history.  There was much  note taking, especially by Mr. Levtias, a lawyer by training. I attempted a quick history tutorial while my fellow taxi participants presented their personal experiences. If I had been aware at that time that medallions were designated as intangible property, it would have enabled me to say even more succinctly that paying $100,000 or more, as some have, for a revokable lease made no sense whatsoever.  I can only hope that the City understands that essential fact as we head toward, in how many months or years, to an equitable solution. 

My biggest disappointment was the absence of the fellow cabbies I was relying upon to tell their story.  Too typical is my obvious response to this kind of irresponsibility. The vast majority have little ability to take care of themselves when it is necessary, which explains why so many medallion owners failed to respond for years to the City and County's notices concerning their medallions. 

Anyway, the meeting, only a quick hour, ended on a cordial note. I am guessing there will be more in the future.  I can only hope for better attendance. 

Group Meeting, 3:30 PM April 30th with Erik Schmidt, Director of Operations for Seattle Councilmember  Rob Saka

Another informational meeting, with Mr. Schmidt taking lots of notes. Friendly but only 30 minutes long. Hopefully in the future, we will be given more time.  

Solo Meeting 9:00 AM May 1st wiith Lilly Hayward, Chief of Staff for Metro King County Councilmember Steffanie Fain.

I met with Ms. Hayward in a coffee shop in the Fremont neighborhood. Again, another informational, note taking meeting. She was very pleasant and attentive, a true professional. What all these five meetings told me beyond any doubt is that the Seattle/King County taxi community has done little to no self-advocacy over the past 12 years. When you operate in a vacuum you end up disconnected, floating up into the ether.  When you are nowhere, you are nowhere. In a very real sense, that is the current condition of the Seattle/KC taxi industry.  I will try to bring them back to earth. 

Conclusion

I saw all these meetings as first steps, especially the last three, as Sean Bouffiou and Cregan Newhouse were already fairly well acquainted with taxi, far more intimately involved than other members of the Seattle and King county political and regulatory establishment. Taxi is not an easy subject. Examinations will come later. Who will pass the tests?  Sorry to say, if tests were administrated today, many currently in the taxi industry itself could not achieve a passing grade. Not a good statement upon a sorry situation.

Do I have a goal? The first is to get all the retired medallions reinstated. The second is to have their status changed to permanent real property.  The third to have viable, comprehensive regulation, not the piecemeal enforcement now in place. The fourth, along with that, is a real recognition of the Seattle/KC industry in total, its needs and wants. A fifth would be a functional association system.  One can wish. 

The Seattle/KC taxi community needs to understand that it has been kicked down the street, now little more than a transportation stepchild.  All my efforts, whatever they might be in the future, will be for naught unless everyone wakes up to themselves, understanding they must become equal partners when working with the City of Seattle and King County.  Acting delirious, like you have just been bonked on the head is not constructive. Rub your heads, Seattle cabbies, and open your eyes. If you don't, the world is gonna pass you by, with Waymo knocking you off the road. Believe me, it will happen. 

And a Postscript:  Thanks everyone, for those four Chinese meals. Here in my dusty, sunny corner of SW New Mexico I can't head down to Chinatown and chow down at Tai Tung and the Honey Court and Homestyle Dim Sum. And that's it, that's what I miss from Seattle.  And HK Dim Sum at 130th & Aurora North was good too, though I could do without their waitstaff. My favorite waitress wasn't there. She knows how to handle a table.