The Unavoidable Issue That 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 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 anyway 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!

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 that 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 dangerous assholes I understand them to be.  All you have done is remind them of the obvious. 

I never carried a gun or any other kind of weapon, knowing that 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 was 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. 

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 anymore. 

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 far

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. 

 

April Early, Off To Death Valley: The Seattle/King County Medallion Retirement Controversy & The Toxic Work Environment All Cabbies Share & NYC Cabbie's Comment About Gasoline Prices & NCAA Basketball Memories 1988

 Off to the Death Valley National Park's Flower "Super Bloom (I Hope) 

Here in the southwest corner of New Mexico, the temperatures, like the greater Southwestern states, are much higher than normal, meaning Death Valley, that wonderful park bordering the western border of Nevada, is experiencing 100 plus degrees F. this week, potentially wilting the flowers I hope to see.  But off I go on a 700 mile one-way excursion. My only complaint is Trump's unnecessary war with Iran, and the accompanying spike in gasoline prices. 

Thankfully, tiny San Lorenzo has been spared the bombs and missiles. The only direct impact here is local gas prices having increased by over a one dollar a gallon. I will make every attempt to avoid buying gas in California. I do not want to pay $6.00 per gallon or whatever it may be. No thanks to that! 

Donald Trump keeps repeating that these high gas prices are short term but what he isn't saying is that this is the fastest gasoline price rise in American history. Is his middle name "infamous?" It will be soon. 

But isn't it fun being part of a history making event? All of us will be mentioned someday in future history books, if not individually, collectively. That should be solace enough for a quickly emptying wallet, don't you think?  Or perhaps not. 

Appeasement to Uber and Their Teamster Buddies? An Examination of Seattle/King County's Medallion Retirements

Sorry folks, is all I can say. I should have been paying better attention, your ever faithful taxi watchdog asleep in the front yard. Normally I'm barking if not growling. But now I'm on the hunt, my bloodhound nose pressed to the bureaucratic ground, sniffing for clues. I think I more or less understand how the medallion retirements came about. Do I know who decided to start auditing the medallions, a kind of Santa Claus (Father Christmas) naughty or nice process of seeing who was actively interested in operating a taxicab with their stagnant medallion or medallions?  No I don't but I know they are hiding somewhere in one of those tall building reaching for the sky in DT Seattle. 

But I want everyone to understand why the vast majority of the inactive medallions were not on working cabs: because the association system that once sustained the local Seattle/King County taxicab industry has fallen apart, only a faint memory of what it once was. As to why that is something I think everyone knows, that being the 2014 Seattle City Council's fatal decision not to cap Uber and Lyft at 250 cars each. Yes, this is old history, so let's run up a few years to December 2023, December 12th to be exact, and find out what our friends on the City Council were doing for or not for the now stumbling Seattle taxicab community.

Regulators from both the City and the County decided rules for taxis need updated. Some were positive, like allowing cabs to pickup passengers anywhere in Seattle and King County. Others not so positive, like insisting that owner/operators only use an association-based payment system, though their "smart meter" is damnably similar to Lyft and Uber's systems networks, someone somehow thinking it would level the "playing field" between TNCs and taxis. This is also when all those sitting medallions were scrutinized as to their status, and what should be done concerning them. One question I have is why hadn't this medallion audit instead been done yearly, instead of a sudden shocked gasp, exclaiming "Oh my god! What is going on here?!"  

Shortening this narrative, the regulators put all their new rules and plans in a package and took it to the Seattle City Council for examination. One important part of it had nothing to do with taxicabs whatsoever but instead a Teamsters Local 117 lobbying initiative to operate a TNC Drivers Union funded by a cool one million dollars. How truly actively involved the Teamsters were in creating the regulatory package that came to be known as Seattle Municipal Code 6.311, I do not know. But I do know that the Teamsters were at times adversarial, as exemplified by a long running lawsuit against Eastside Flat-rate for Hire. It seemed they were "out for blood," a kind of revanchism for what real reason I was never clear about.

One thing I know for sure is that the Seattle City Council loves talking to "legitimate" voices like the Teamsters and established entities like Puget Sound Dispatch (Seattle Yellow Cab), the City Council more than happy to pretend that Teamsters and PSD are representing owner/operator's real views and opinions, when nothing further from the truth is true. Why negotiate with the unwashed rabble when instead far more pleasant speaking with "establishment" figureheads?  Think of 1792 and the French Revolution.  Who wants to talk to Maximilien Robespierre when far better speaking to a powdered, cultured Marie Antoinette?  You don't want to lose your head.

I am joking but I want to return to the subject of the medallion retirements themselves. It has been explained to me that some medallion owners effectively abandoned their medallions, basically not paying attention to their own property. Inattention unfortunately is something rampant throughout Seattle's taxi history. And I was told that notices were sent out in 2024 providing a full year of warning of what the Seattle/County were planning regarding medallions. Then last fall they starting sending out notices of pending medallion retirement if no response was received.

While not condoning Seattle and King County's actions and decisions, it would have been imperative to properly respond to what was being said, and many did not respond, leading to the mess the vast majority find themselves in: their medallions have been retired. This, guys, is no way to conduct business. You must be awake to what is happening around you. 

From what I see now, if a solution is to be found, is for everyone to become proactive. And the first place to start is to email Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and tell her, in your own words, what has happened and what you think the remedy is.  Just google "Contact the Seattle Mayor" and her website will appear.  It is very easy to do.  

Another part of this is to meet in an organized fashion with the mayor. Karl Porter, if you know him, is a person to contact about this. Sooner than later is better when meeting with the mayor. 

I hope I have provided some clarification concerning all this. I end with this advice. Always be aware of what you need to do to maintain your business, your livelihood. If the Seattle and King County cabbies had been more awake concerning what the City and County were planning, you would not have been surprised when they came knocking at your door, saying the medallion you thought was yours has now been taken away.  

Part of the conversation that must be had is what is "real property" and what is "leased property?"  Why would anyone pay, for instance, $100,000 for a taxicab medallion, when it simply is an lease agreement that can be terminated for a sundry of bureaucratic reasons?  Why does that make any sense?  It doesn't. 

Health and the Cabbie: My Personal Situation 

I am telling everyone this to serve as an important warning for all cabbies. Recently I have been diagnosed with prostrate cancer.  Thankfully it has not spread beyond the prostrate but still, without intervention, I will die. I am approaching my treatment choices pragmatically, choosing to undergo naturopathic, Chinese, and traditional (radiation) treatments.  I was shocked at my diagnosis but like all of you, we have all worked in a carbon toxic work environment that is unhealthy. 

The average lifespan for a cabbie in the USA is age 67.  I am 72.  If you are over 40, and especially if you are 50 or older, consider a prostrate biopsy. it could save your life.  Another suggestion is, clean up your diet. Online you will find many suggestions. Get lots of sleep.  I am sure my crazy habit of working taxi weekends of 44 hours out of 48 did not help my body.  My pocketbook loved it, and I did take Monday-Friday off but the stress, wear and tear was not good.  Be smarter than me. Take good care of yourself. 

Back in 2024 in Seattle, an astrologer said I would live to at least age 90.  I am trying to make that prediction come true. 

Great Comment by Somone who Knows

At the start of this war (Trump) caused gasoline crisis, a NYC cabbie was interviewed on the APR/NPR Marketplace radio program while fueling up his taxi at a gas station near LaGuardia Airport. He said, normally, gasoline to fill his taxicab's tank would cost $35.00. That day it was costing him $61.00.  The interview ended with him saying,"When gas goes up, I go down."  Not a truer statement said. 

Nothing Like Sporting Events for the Big Money

The Men's NCAA  basketball games playing out now reminds  me of the first big basketball tournament I worked in Seattle. I was still dumb and new in the business, remembering going up with some passengers to their hotel room at the Kennedy. drinking brandy. These crazy guys ended giving me lots of money but later, no way would I do something so stupid. I was 34 so I wasn't a kid.  Post-divorce depression?  Probably. One always needs an excuse when they are idiotic. 

If You Live in Seattle's North End, District 5

It would be great if Silas James ended on up on Seattle's City Council. There is a special election coming up. Not only will you get the opportunity to vote for James, but you can also send him your two City of Seattle Democracy vouchers.  The Seattle City Council could use some wild-eyed idealism. Please remember that the taxicab community has had few real friends on Seattle's City Council.  Silas James just might be one. 

DId You Know Your Bus Lane Violation Ticket Could Become A Moving Violation? & CA SB 720 Safer Streets Act & Chicago Ordered To Refund $69.6 Million & When in Paris, France: English Speaking (Taxi Parisien) Cabs , Rates And More & Emily Steel, Our Hero & A Conversation With A Seattle Taxi Veteran & Seattle Times Uber Article & TaxiPoint UK Taxi News

 Watch Out for those Ticket Cameras

The new camera law in CA got me to thinking about something I struggled with when I was forced to insure my car with New Mexico-based auto insurance.  I might have written about it last year but what I had to deal with was an erroneous report from the City of Seattle saying a bus lane ticket was a moving violation. It took me months and many telephone calls and emails to correct the mistake. I was never told why it happened. Mistakes are made is the simple answer.  

I write this as a warning to all of you who are now paying the highest taxicab insurance rates ever noted in the USA industry. It doesn't matter if your five-year MVR is completely clear, you are still looking at paying $5-6000. annually. Get a ticket on your MVR and expect your rate to skyrocket to the moon.  

The unfortunate reality is that with so many miles on the road each month, tickets, at least camera generated tickets, are coming your way. In San Francisco, cabs are allowed to use bus lanes but in Seattle they are a revenue-based violation the city uses to bolster their budget. 

If you do get a camera issued ticket, make sure you get records stating the following: that it is paid; that it  clearly states what kind of violation it is; and that it is a non-moving violation. Make a copy and send it to your insurance agent. That way, if a mistake occurs, you will save time and money because, like me, your insurer will immediately be charging you more.  

Also please remember this: the insurance companies do not care about you or the cab industry in general.  I found that out beyond any doubt when Progressive tried to blame me for an accident when I was sitting stationary at a light and a driver, driving on the wrong side of the street, struck my cab. Outrageous but true.  Progressive corrected their error but did they apologize?  No. 

State of California Camera Rule Changes

CA SB Bill 720, in a compromise to allow for more traffic camera expansion, makes all violations a civil not criminal violation. Whether that will stop drivers from running red lights, or increase the likelihood, it still might be an improvement. Always stay informed to ticket rule changes in your home state, city and county. You the cab driver are an easy target. Never forget it. 

And in Chicago: Judge Rules City Violated State Law

On Feb 19th, 2026, Circuit Court Judge William B. Sullivan, ruled in a lawsuit filed in 2018, that the City of Chicago must pay $69.6 million in refunds in drivers who had received citations.  He also ordered that the City of Chicago forgive $93.8 million in debt held by ticketed drivers. Why this incredibly large monetary settlement?  

Because the City of Chicago violated Illinois state law by illegally charging late fees that were not allowed. What is interesting to me about this is that in 2017, Chicago agreed to a $38.7 settlement alleging it had failed to provide adequate notice to drivers ticketed by red light and speed cameras in over one million issued citations. Talk about not learning your lesson. 

Given that Chicago has over 13,000 taxicab drivers, you can be sure many of those tickets in both cases were issued to them. And concerning the recent judgement, the City of Chicago is weighting whether it should appeal. Why not kick the can down the road?  Why care about the many affected drivers?  Why care about anything except $$$? 

All About Taking a Cab in Paris, France

Paris is my favorite big city.  If you hadn't been, go, and you too will see what I mean. My favorite part of the city is around the Gare du Nord (the North Train Station).  If I ever live there again, that will be my first choice, a migrant filled neighborhood that is filled with vibrancy, urban vigor at its shouting best.  To further entice you, here are a few lines from the song "Give Paris One More Chance" performed by Jonathan Richman and his Modern Lovers in 1983:

"Well, if you've been to cities but you've had enough

Have you been to Paris, France?

And if you doubt Paris was made for love

Give Paris one more chance" 

On my second to last visit I met this lovely French woman at a bookstore. We began talking about books and poetry and clearly there was a connection. I walked into the night but then, was it hallucination?  was it wishful thinking? or just pure madness? I heard in my brain "come back, come back" but I didn't go back because I knew if I did I might be starting something that wouldn't stop, something I wasn't prepared to do. So, you too might want to give Paris a chance. You might never come back. Screw Seattle!

Paris cabs (Taxi Parisien) are everywhere. Their toplights are either beaming green or red.  A green light means they are vacant, free to be taken. A red light shows they are occupied. 

You can easily find them on the many stands throughout the city but if wanting to guarantee an English-speaking cabbie then the taxi company G7 would be your first choice.  Their 24/7 telephone number is 0 41 27 66 99.  Their app link is: https://www.g7.fr/en/  Their customer service in English website is https://aide.g7.fr/he/fr

The minimum fare in Paris is 8 euros ($9.41), so taking a cab, like taking a London Black Cab, is not cheap. There are two major airports in Paris, Charles de Gaulle and Orly.  Fares from de Gaulle: 65 euros to the Left Bank; 56 euros to the Right Bank of the city. The River Seine is the divider. From Orly: 36 euros to the Left Bank; 45 euros to the Right Bank. 

Unless you have lots of luggage, I suggest taking a train or bus. Trains have always been my first choice. The RER B runs from de Gaulle very 15 minutes from 5:30 AM -11:30 PM, ending at the Gare du Nord. There is now new bus service from de Gaulle, the Express 9517, that will take you to the Metro Line 14 for about 3 euros. From there , the Metro will take you into central Paris. If arriving in the daylight, do that and see the city.  I make every effort in every foreign city I arrive in to take local buses. For me they are cheap tour buses. Never boring. 

And here are more examples of how cab rates in Paris are divided in a given day and week. How anyone can keep track of all this is beyond me. Do the meters automatically change as the clock ticks on?  Next time I am in Paris I will have to take a G7 cab and find out for sure.  Despite all my time in France, I am not a French speaker. My ex-wife was the opposite, having learned French in Belgium and France when she was 14.  The rates are divided as Tariffs and all the rates are in euros:

Tariff A

10 AM-5 PM except Sundays and Holidays. 1.25 per kilometer and max hourly rate 38.85 (As I said, cabs are expensive in Paris. One kilometer is about 2/3rds of a mile.)

Tariff B

5 PM-10 PM and Sundays 7 AM-Midnight and all day on public holidays. 1.64 per kilometer and max hourly rate 51.79.

Tariff C 

Sundays 12 AM-7 AM 1.74 per kilometer and max hourly rate 42.52.

Ya got all that?  Talk about complicated.  And rates are different outside of Paris. But the reality in Paris is that the public transport in so good, it makes little sense to take a cab. The weekly transit pass is cheap when compared to taxi rates.

Back in Sept 1984, being assigned the task of moving our bags from our apartment to our hotel, I took a cab across Paris. It was a good ride but remembering thinking it was too expensive. The next day, walking and finding ourselves lost in the giant park that is the Bois de Boulogne, we flagged a cab and got back to our hotel, and a little bit later, had one of our best meals in Paris, eating in a cafe sharing a long table with locals. Such is the wonder and pleasure of travel!

Another Emily Steel NY Times article concerning Uber

The Feb 19th, 2026 article is entitled "Uber Moves to Enact Stricter Background Checks for Drivers."  It reminds everyone that between 2017-2022 sexual assault or sexual misconduct was reported on an average of every 8 minutes to Uber.  And of course, Uber did nothing to stop these attacks.  

Who is to blame?  Certainly Uber itself but more broadly it was Uber's enablers in State, County and City governments that allowed this to happen by letting Uber dictate the rules. In CA this fall there is a statewide ballot initiative to make Uber responsible for the actions of its drivers. Makes complete sense.

A Very Entertaining Conversation with a Taxi Buddy

From 1700 miles away I can laugh but living the dysfunction that is now Seattle taxi (and Uber and Lyft and town car) is certainly no fun. Tales of ripoff mechanics (I know the guy) and drivers who have gone over the edge (a friend of mine) makes for a sad narrative. From him I only received more evidence that the vast majority of Seattle cabbies are living in the past even while the present isn't very nice.  His tale of just trying to purchase another car to be his next taxi was harrowing.  Can you trust anyone?  Perhaps not.  

If I had the millions necessary I would sweep in and attempt to rescue everyone. Perhaps I better buy a lottery ticket. I would unite all the associations, and suddenly, all the cabbies would be making real money again, and the customer service would be at a historical high. We would give Seattle transportation customers new reasons to take cabs while giving Uber and Lyft the boot.  Wouldn't that all be great fun? 

Seattle Times Feb 26th, 2026 Article concerning too many Ubers: Seattle Has an Uber Problem

It is entitled "WA Union for Uber, Lyft Drivers says Too Many Rideshare Drivers on the Road." Reported by Nicholas Deshais.  Nothing new here but it adds to the obvious.  I encourage everyone interested to write your opinion to him at ndeshais@seattletimes.com.  Educate the reporter!

TaxiPoint/TaxiPoint Premium UK Taxi News

This is a website I have subscribed to, providing helpful news concerning our taxicab comrades faraway across the mighty Atlantic in merry old England.  Reading it can keep you updated to new trends as London's Black Cab industry could be considered the pinnacle of worldwide taxi. But that doesn't mean it is a perfect world, as the latest report describes. Check it out with a 90 day free trial. 

It turns out that connectivity issues affecting mobile payment systems have led some passengers to accuse  Black Cab cabbies of impropriety, resulting in complaints to the taxicab ruling Transport for London (TfL). As any cabbie in this modern world knows, connectivity failure is commonplace. I have certainly lost money due to connectivity drops, finding myself unable to properly and timely authorize a credit card charge. Over my taxi career, I estimate I lost about $1000.00 total from run-outs etc. Part of the fun and games that is taxi. 

There are two things going on with these London complaints. One, it is too typical to blame the cabbie, because longstanding mythology shouts every cabbie is a thief. Everyone knows that!  The other is basic.  To become a certified Black Cab London cabbie, you will spend two-four arduous years learning every bloody street in the ENTIRE city of London and metro area.  

Why would any cabbie throw all of that toil away to gain an extra penny from a passenger?  It's nonsensical but as every cabbie knows, that never stops some asshole passenger from saying you are this and that. Over my 35 years plus years beneath the toplight I was accused of every crime imaginable save murder. And the only reason I wasn't accused of murder is that a body had to be produced. 

In other words, the issue plaguing Black Cab cabbies is totally bogus, and hopefully the TfL is smart enough not to waste everyone's time. There are real reasons why every ride should be recorded, taping both sound and motion.  And once it is proved that the passenger lied, off to the gallows we go!  Keep a rope in the boot. Hang 'em high!

Back In The USA: Five More Mexico Cab Rides & Speaking Of Crazy, Some Readers Must Think I Am Nuts: My Love And Hate Relationship With Taxi & Jan 23rd Was The Last Day To Begin Your Taxi Renewal Process

 Back in Sunny but Chilly SW New Mexico: Five Cabs Rides Near and Around Ajijic 

Brrrr its cold! after more than a month on the sunny shores of Lake Chapala. But before I left Mexico I had occasion to take five more cab rides, including our last one to the Guadalajara airport. I always like reporting on my foreign taxicab rides, always interested in comparing driver skills and general attitudes displayed by my cabbie comrades where ever they might be.  

Four of the rides came in tandems of two, the first two occurring in Guadalajara toward my trip's end, deciding to return to that hectic city and visit at least two art museums. Taking a "fast" bus into the city (fare:70 pesos), I found myself at the old bus station, Central Vieja de Autobuses.  Being not totally clear where I was, and how far it was to where I wanted to go, I headed to the stand of waiting cabs.  My first destination was the Instituto Cultural Cabanas (art museum) and the 35 famous murals painted by Jose Clemente Orozco. The cabbie, who spoke no English, knew where it was, quoting me 150 pesos and off we went.  Given the language barrier, I just enjoyed the ride as he negotiated heavy traffic on what turned out to be the same long street, Calzada Independencia Norte, I stayed on upon my December 10th arrival. 

The ride took more or less 15 minutes, the driver making an effort to put me right next to the place, getting an extra $2.00 US for his troubles. If you ever find yourself in Guadalajara, I think you would enjoy the extensive campus that is this former sprawling orphanage. From there you can walk directly to the historical center of the city. The Cabanas is also about two blocks from the largest enclosed market in Guadalajara, a wonderful jumble of stalls not to be missed. It was there I had lunch has a busy counter called Fonda Don Jose. Pink clad waitresses flew around in organized frenzy, fresh tortillas flying off the grill. And cheap too, all this food---arroz, frijoles, pollo and espaguetis--- for 79 pesos ($4.40).  I will never forget the smile my grumpy waitress gave when I handed her a 10 peso coin. A wonderful moment. 

Ride two that day was unexpected. While sitting in a plaza after lunch, I checked my emails and found that "she-who-can't-be-named" locked herself out of our rental house, wrapped only in a towel, finding herself trapped in the tiny back courtyard. That of course abruptly changed all my plans, walking back to the main street where a eager cabbie grabbed me and off we sailed back to the bus station.  The driver spoke some English and was cheerful, getting me quickly to the station. 100 pesos and two dollars for him too.  Lucky, for in 10 minutes I was on the bus back to Ajijic and Lake Chapala to rescue the stranded sunbathing damsel, further museum visits having to wait another day.

On my last Saturday I had a goal in mind, and that was to make it to the south side of the lake. Lake Chapala is the largest lake in Mexico, and for three years running, I wondered what was on the other side.  As she didn't want to go, I took a bus to Jocotepec where I was told that somewhere in that confusing city I would find a bus to take me along the southern shore and my destination, the 17th century town of Tizapan El Alto. The information I had gotten was completely unreliable, saying I had only to walk one block to catch the necessary bus. No, not at all true. And that information was provided by a gringo.  Figures.

After being dropped off at the tiny Jocotepec bus station, no one seemed to know what I was asking about until I was rescued by a kind English speaker, who discovered the info I needed.  It turned out that where I needed to go was an intersection about two miles outside the city, and while walking was an option, I took a cab sitting a block away. The fare was 80 pesos (he got 100), with the driver knowing something about Seattle, having picked apples and pears in Yakima, Washington for three years.  He was friendly and it seems, has been driving cab in Jocotepec for nearly 30 years. He got me to the intersection on Route 15, and after waiting for about 15 minutes, my bus pulled up, the fare 117 pesos. 

The south shoreline is far less developed, as I enjoyed scanning a shoreline new to me.  Once in Tizapan, I wandered thought their Saturday market adjacent to the cathedral, where I watched local believers take communion. After sitting in the local plaza, munching my lunch of roasted chicken and tortillas, I wandered back to the highway, where immediately I found a bus taking me back to the original intersection, where I waited for either a local bus or a cab. A cab came around the corner first, with a nice older gentleman taking me back to the Jocotepec bus station, he too getting 100 pesos. Both the the drivers were true professionals, taking me directly to where I needed to go. Who can ask for more? Not me. 

My last taxi ride, the one taking us to the Guadalajara airport at 3:00 AM, was by far the best.  It turned out that a cabbie lived right next door to our rental house, making sense to hire him for our early morning departure. Speaking taxi like I do, I understood his every action, from pulling up in front, to loading our bags, to how he approached the airport drop-off, patiently waiting for a departing car to leave.  Driving taxi can be an art form, and this gentleman was a true artist, a veteran of 37 years beneath the toplight, and the proud son of another taxi veteran, his father having driven for 45 years. 

He spoke English, which is why I joined him in front, but being the consummate professional, kept our conversation a to minimum as my companion in the back seat made it clear she wasn't interested in more taxi chatter.  Obnoxious but I love her anyway. He got 800 pesos for his early morning journey plus six dollars US.  

If anyone finds themselves in the general Lake Chapala number his number is ("plus sign" 54) 33 12 27 56 72.  I never got to ask his name though his business card called him Roger but I am doubtful that's what it truly is, instead using a non-Mexican name  for his hopeful rich gringo audience.  I ranked his ride right up there to the one I got in a London Black Cab in early March 2000 by a true taxi dinosaur. Both knew what they were doing.  The last thing any passenger needs in that time of morning is a BS ride, something you might expect with an Uber or Lyft, this cabbie's wisdom brighter than the headlights illuminating our roadway to the airport. If we return for another season, he's my man!

You Cabbies Might Drive Me Crazy But I Love Everyone of You!

I have gotten the strong suspicion that many of my loyal readers might have been offended by attitudes expressed in my 2025 assessment of the American taxicab industry. Since I can understand why some might think I despise taxi, it simply isn't at all true,  But then what is true, how do I really feel about an industry that I gave over 35 plus years to?  How can I say the industry is dysfunctional yet at the same time remaining steadfast in my affection for all my taxi colleagues, both known and unknown?  While it might be hard to believe, my unwavering fondness for my fellow toplight sufferers is based explicitly upon knowing your daily reality: the bullshit you face ride after ride; yet simultaneously I become frustrated by your exhausted response, your silent complicity with the very forces that would destroy you and your ability to make a living. 

What do I mean when I say, and I have said repeatedly, that the cab industry is crazy? While knowing full well that pejorative term has been historically attached to cabbies, I mean it in a collective sense rather than individually aimed at all you hard working cabbies. What I find disturbing, what I find crazy is a pervasive acquiesce to events and decisions made by those who have no direct connection to the industry, and by direct I mean by having driven a cab like you and I have.  

Does anyone think it's odd that all the taxi regulators in Seattle and King County have never driven a cab? And this phenomenon isn't isolated, because in New York City, a big deal was made concerning the announcement of a new leader for the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, Midori Valdivia, but of course this new woman in charge has never for a second driven a cab.  

Making this even clearer as to what is occurring, is that Bhairavi Desai's only qualification to lead the NYC Taxi Workers Alliance's is that she graduated from a university with a BA in Women's Studies. Again, never for a moment having driven a cab. What I again call crazy is the mass acceptance by the 13,000 NYC cabbies of being regulated and guided by amateur professionals. It isn't that both of then aren't well meaning. I am sure they are. But I have said this. before, and I say it again: no one can understand a cabbie's daily reality until they too have driven beneath the toplight. As I also keep repeating, taxi is an unique occupation where the abuse to mind, body and soul is singular, the cabbie often seen as a kind of societal and cultural leper, a pariah worthy of a kick in the pants.  But don't believe me, ask any Seattle cop, they'll tell you what's what. 

Knowing your agony, having lived it, fully explains why I can, and never will, abandon my comrades in taxi arms. I know what my brethren in Seattle continue to endure.  A friend, transferring his cab from Yellow to One Taxi, after nearly two months, still doesn't have his cab on the road.  Another friend, finding himself so confused by the medallion renewal process, might have his medallion retired despite poor communication by the City of Seattle, something he wasn't responsible for. 

I tell you, taxi brothers and sisters, if I was the one running the regulatory offices in Seattle and King County, none of this would be happening. I wouldn't let it happen because I know taxi reality inside and out, having experienced every kind of insult and bullshit imaginable. So curse me if you like, call me an a-hole and any other choice words but never forget I am you and you are me, forever bonded we are in the blood, sweat and tears that is driving taxi in the USA. My advocacy for you is real. And Permanent. 

January 23rd at 4 PM was the last offical day to begin you City of Seattle Taxi Medallion renewal process

If you hadn't already applied, apply ASAP and ask for waiver.  Get on it before you lose your medallion. 

More Dumbbell Thinking in Seattle, King County and the State of Washington

More pain and suffering for Seattle cabbies, and all local car drivers in general, is due to the I-5 north-bound Ship Canal repaving project, something that will extend into 2027. While maintaining roadways are essential, commonsense should prevail when accommodating a driver's reality trying to get from home to work. What is inhibiting morning south-bound traffic along I-5 is the decision to make the reversible express lanes north-bound only 24/7, thus greatly impacting all south-bound traffic along I-5, especially the morning commute. The usual Lynnwood to DT Seattle commute, once averaging 35 minutes, can now be expected to average between 50-65 minutes. The question many are asking is why can't the south-bound express lanes be opened during that morning commute?  Minus any real answer as to why not from the WSDOT, drivers continue to confront a frustrating commute trying to get to their workplace.  

As I have written about many times over the years, even without any ongoing roadwork, the morning and evening north and south-bound commutes are horrendous, a true nightmarish slog guaranteed to drive you crazy. For Lynnwood commuters, the only viable alternative is taking the now expanded Light-rail Link to DT.  Many are making that choice, leading to crowded trains but doubtful if they match the jam-packed subways in Mexico City and London. Such is modern life in crowded urban centers. Most recently I experienced heavily congested roadways in Guadalajara, population six million. For comparison, the population of the Seattle metropolitan area (King, Pierce, Snohomish counties) is 4.15 million. The current estimated WA State population is just over eight million, which should tell you how unpleasant Guadalajara traffic can be. 

Getting back to the Seattle traffic dilemma, the convergence of area geography and an ever growing population means that living there translates into a kind of lifelong roadway imprisonment, the local driver sentenced to a daily frustration leading only to a shortened lifespan. Add some of the highest living costs in the world, it makes me wonder why anyone stays there, let alone relocates there. Given new rounds of tech industry layoffs, that all might be changing.   

Locally here in SW New Mexico, if 30 cars past my house in a 24 hour day, I start swearing.  Referring back to Seattle, King County and State of Washington's decision makers, I remain confounded why commonsense rarely prevails. If 50% of the population wisely decided that they had enough, and move away like I did, their tax base would collapse, leaving the entire area high and dry. But dumbbell bureaucracy never truly considers longterm ramifications.  They just go on and on with their poor decision making.  A recent Seattle Times article I found humorous featured the now deposed Seattle mayor Bruce Harrell saying his loss didn't cause any reflection on his part.  No news there as there was no "reflection" during his tenure as mayor, Harrell languidly drifting along in his personal dreamworld, murmuring "everything is fine" when clearly it wasn't. 

I'll end with what has become a personal mantra: "Welcome to Seattle: home of never ending circular thinking." Enjoy yourselves everyone, if you possibly can.

More Waymo Investment

Waymo just raised 16 billion from new investors. Waymo's new evaluation will be 110 billion dollars.  Big Money gives no thought whatsoever to what happens to all you cab drivers. To Big Money you are cockroaches in their kitchen, vile creatures to be stepped on and swept away. There is no pretense. That is how they feel. 

 

Greetings From Lake Chapala, Mexico: Three Guadalajara Cab Rides & An Assessment And Critique Of The USA Taxicab Industry & Ya Know, Seattle/King County Is A Stupid Place

Ola from sunny Mexico 

I am here in San Antonio Tlayacapan with the infamous "she-who-can't-be-named" until January 19th, 2026.  Over this 37 day span, we will be staying in three different locations, the second about 100 feet away from the now bloated shores of Mexico's largest lake, Lago Chapala.  We just missed substantial rains lifting the water level three feet, taking over shoreline, and unfortunately pushing some residents out of their make-shift homes on what was once dry land.  Brilliant sunshine is now in play.  I will say that the many egrets and herons display an avian indifference to higher water, patiently perched in their hunt for fish, similar to last year. South-bound feathery migrants are still arriving daily---bright red song birds now making their crimson appearance, along with black-crowned night herons. A colorful permanent resident we enjoy seeing is the social flycatcher (myiozetetes similis), flashing its bright yellow belly through the green tropical leafy branches.

Arriving a couple of days early, I took a cab from the Guadalajara airport to my hotel located in DT Guadalajara, the Hotel Vigo. The driver was the most professional of the three, conservative on the road, with quickly getting me to the hotel through the darkened, then quiet streets of the very populated city (5.8 million) that is Guadalajara. The fare was 460 pesos and I gave him $6.00 American for his tip.  I do not recommend the Vigo. 

My second cab ride took me to the airport to meet my soon to be arriving companion. My initial plan was to take a cab to the nearby central bus station, about a five-minute drive from where I was standing but the cabbies sitting around said 200 pesos. That wouldn't fly because the fare to the airport was only 400 pesos from that part of the city.  Nothing like dishonest, self-serving cabbies but given I didn't want to walk the 20 minutes to the station lugging my two bags, taking a cab directly to the airport the far better option. The gentleman's taxi had no seatbelt and it rattled like the tired tin can it was.  This time, late afternoon traffic was simply horrible, no fun for the cabbie slogging through the congested roadways.  Finally we arrived, the grumpy, surly cabbie smiling after I gave him a 500 peso note and said "keep it!"  Money always makes for a happy cabbie and though he was, minus any doubt an a-hole, the cabbie's life is hard, and how could I not understand his attitude?  Of course I do, with all that damn traffic earning him his tip. 

The mid-evening third cab ride took us to our apartment in San Antonio Tlayacapan, a distance of about 30 kilometers east of the airport.  The driver got on his telephone, holding a lively if irritating conversation. He also unexplainably twice drove on the wrong side of the road but redeeming himself by pulling up directly in front of our required address. The fare was 600 pesos and he got a $10.00 bill for not getting us lost in the dark. Concerning cabbies, I can be forgiving. Everyone else, you just better watch out. 

Happy New Year 2026?  End of the Year 2025 Taxi Industry Assessment

I could sum it up in one short statement: "the American taxi industry refuses to recognize that it is in last days."  Now is that really true, is the USA cab industry doomed to soon disappear?  Part of that future depends on whether Waymo and other autonomous self-driving cab companies are successful in convincing the American public they are a viable alternative to human-driven taxicabs and cars.  Another part of this is something that have plagued the American taxi industry since my first entry back in September 1987: misplaced priorities, meaning, that when your top priority is making money minus an  emphasis on customer service, you are creating a big problem for yourself.  

Explaining it in a way that no one misunderstands, the American taxi industry has been myopic, nearsighted, unable to see reality directly what is in front of it.  Denial is first and foremost the industry response to any potential challenge facing it.  It happened in 2012 with Uber and Lyft and it is occurring now that Waymos are plying American city streets.  

What will be industry response to this new threat?  Probably nothing whatsoever is what I think is the answer.  In my November post I suggested the need for a taxi industry lobbyist to communicate and deliver concerns to government lawmakers.  Do I think that will happen?  No I don't because I know, not believe, that most of the people in power running taxi associations and companies are dysfunctional.  If that wasn't, and isn't the case, Uber would not exist, at least not in the form and stature we see operational today.  When you do not know what you are doing, you simply do not know that you are dysfunctional, and that folks, is the end of that bad story.  From my past experience working in the psychiatric world, every schizophrenia-afflicted person I met insisted that they were okay, and sane, including my own brother, denial the telltale mark of the crazed and mentally ill.  Have I ever considered the taxi industry to be sane?  No. 

But if there is hope for the industry to survive, I declare that it must collectively admit that it is facing a  dire threat, and a threat that is not going away. Waymo, Tesla, Uber and many others are backed by billions of dollars trying to sell the American driving public the mythology that traditional taxi is antiquated and out-of-date.  If our voices aren't raised in official protest to all levels of government, we will be run over the same way that ill-fated feline, Kit Kat, was driven over by Waymo in San Francisco--- bloodied and dead.  Factually, in real time, that is what is happening while I am writing this warning.  What is everyone going to do about it? 

Dumbell Seattle: It really isn't funny

Through these pages over the years I have complained about the poor government decision making plaguing Seattle and King County, and how it often impacted taxi operations.  Here are two very recent examples illustrating what is a regional problem that will never change, remaining the same until the sun is blotted out two billion years from now.  Maybe its in the water but there is a kind of residual mental illness that has collectively stunted rational thinking in Seattle and KC for years.  It also shows that Seattle isn't very bright when it comes to thinking clearly even though 70% of the population hold a BA or higher level of education.  Perhaps all of them once graduated from one of Donald Trump's bogus universities, with a Minor in Road Rage.  Empty, vacuous bragging is another inherent Seattle trait. Would we know if 70% of Seattleites failed their first year of kindergarten?  Heavens no!

Exhibit number one: Not repairing the Desimone levee in Tukwila along the Green River.  This week (I am writing in mid-December), due to all of the recent rain and flooding rivers, the Desimone levee protecting industrial parts of the greater Tukwila area (south of Seattle) was breached by the Green River.  Why is this newsworthy?  Because this same levee was weakened by flooding in 2020, something duly noted then, and for the past five years various agencies have been arguing about who was going to do what and pay for the repair. Now look what happens, a big rainfall comes along and vital low lying industrial parks are threatened by the bloated Green River. Dumb! Dow Constantine, you're a bloody idiot. 

Exhibit number two: Seattle City Light sells over 30 un-replaceable metal paneled artworks to a scrap metal dealer for $10.00 each.  This action is truly mind boggling!  In 1935 the Seattle artist, John Elliott (1883-1971) was commissioned by Seattle City Light to create 34 repousse pewter alloy metal panels displaying the evolution of light dating from prehistoric to modern times. In 1958, he added two more, finishing the series. They were all displayed together on a City Light wall for decades. During some remodeling, in September 2024, some very foolish Seattle City Light employee (or employees) sold almost all of these unique and invaluable panels to a scrap metal dealer, as I said, for a mere ten dollars each.  Thankfully, the dealer understood what he had, and instead of melting them down, sold them to a private collector for the tidy sum of $12,000, someone who is trying to figure out how to reunite the entire series in a permanent display. What Seattle City Light did was more than dumb, it was criminal.  

If anyone, like me, have been following how Seattle/King County has regulated the local taxi industry over the years, you will see parallels.  Seattle and King County is in danger of being flooded, inundated not by water but stupidity.  No, sandbags will not help.  You are in trouble!  Better wear your rubber boots! And learn how to swim.

No Go the Waymo

On December 20th, San Francisco experienced a large power outage caused by a power transmission substation fire, knocking out traffic signals over a large swatch of the city. This is when it appears that the Waymo robo-cabs became afraid of the dark, stalling in the streets and causing serious backups.  Somehow, with the streets devoid of lighting and traffic signals, the Waymo computers did not know what to do. The safety issues are obvious. Now Wayno says they fixed the problem, with new software downloads. Does anyone believe them? Corporate lies are just like Government lies, designed to deceive and deflect responsibility. Wait for Waymo's response when one of their cars have caused a fatality accident. You can be assured  they have one ready to go, knowing full well it will happen. Prepare then for yet another software upgrade. Denial is their crocodile smile, their reptilian style, lying mile by mile. 

PS: It is also No Go the Washington Post guest op-ed.  I wrote a very literate op-ed piece concerning Waymo and autonomous self-driving cars but it seems it wasn't mundane enough for WA Post editors, which doesn't surprise me. Why feature REAL writing when instead publishing the usual Upper-Middle-Class gibberish passing for acceptable prose an easier option. Anybody can write or say the obvious, insight then more often is rejected as offensive. Why know something when instead you can know nothing!  Somehow for most that is appealing but not for me high up in the Crow's Nest scanning the cultural sea, spotting a Waymo tsunami heading our way, flooding taxicab's tranquil bay.  Or something like that. 

New York Times Expose' Concerning Uber's Driver Background Checks

It is not a very nice story but truly an important one.  I recommend everyone reading it or any related news report concerning this.  It was published online in December 22nd, 2025. The article is entitled:

"Uber Cleared Violent Felons to Drive.  Passengers Accused Them of Rape."  Reported by Emily Steel.

Emily Steel has written a followup to her first article. The horror doesn't get any better.  Published  Dec 29th, 2025:

"Flagged for Sexual Misconduct, Many Uber Drivers Stay on the Road"

Uber is not using fingerprinting in their background checks.  In Seattle and King County that is certainly true.  Some of this is old news, something I've written about previously.  It is clear that Uber is not to be trusted.  If you read the articles, check out the many comments.  You will find mine there as well. I tried to cut and paste but the New York Times won't let me.  I keep saying that Uber is immoral.  Read the articles and you will find out why I've said it.  Uber is all about the money.  Anyone surprised?  You shouldn't be. 

                                                             All Uber wants is your cash

                                                             Pay it now, make it fast

                                                             But what happens to you Uber doesn't care

                                                            When you are trapped in some fool's TNC lair

                                                            Doing anything awful they want to you

                                                            and 

                                                            If you are raped, Ha! Uber says, go ahead,

                                                           sue!

                                                           You know our response, 

                                                           what we will do!

___________________________________________

I also wrote another comment concerning Steel's second  article. Governmental intervention is truly necessary.  Uber simply doesn't care what happens to its customers.  The two Steel articles confirms this minus all doubt. How does Uber justify over 3000 sexual assaults currently under investigation?

Goodbye to a Sea-Tac (Tukwila) Restaurant Favorite 

The Pancake Chef, located near Pac Highway (now International Blvd) & South 154th, has closed, after being in operation since 1959.  I loved the place, often stopping there for breakfast before dropping off a family member at the airport.  Prices were good and the pancakes great. Its atmosphere was the 1950s, eating there a step back in time, adding to one's dining pleasure. 

Slowly but surely, old Seattle and area is vanishing off the map.  So many of my favorite dining choices have long disappeared: The Dog House in Belltown; The Unique Bar & Grill in Belltown; Andys Cafe on Capitol Hill; Ernie Steel's Bar & Grill on Capitol Hill; The Continental (Greek) Restaurant in the University District; Steve's Broiler (24 hour Greek) DT; The Uptown (Greek) First Hill; the original 13 Coins, not the same since it moved to Pioneer Square; and another DT 24 Hour Greek restaurant, the Joker Day and Night.  It was there, at 3 and 4 in the morning, where me and my taxi buddy Big Bob would chow town. It was wonderful.  Unfortunately the location is now some strange sex shop. Another closed former haunt is the China Pavillon where I often ate at after dropping off at Sea-Tac, located at 148 & Pac Highway in Tukwila, about a half mile north of the Pancake Chef.  It was also a frequent cab pickup, their bar a favorite dive for locals. Could you believe that as late as 1990, at Andy's on Broadway East you could still get a full meal with dessert and beverage for $5-7.00?  Those were the days! drifting away in memory's haze. 

Another bad example of the new Seattle was the dumbbell name change to International Blvd, an overreaction to the Goodwill Games held in1990.  Thinking they would somehow match the Olympics, Seattle and King County decided changing the name of that stretch of Highway 99 would serve as a welcome mat to the world. The Goodwill Games themselves were a huge financial failure, and by renaming the road, cost the area who knows how many hundreds of thousands of dollars in signage changes and infrastructure alterations. I did attend a couple of the basketball games. Old Seattle was smarter.  This new version not so much. 

                                                          

                                                       

Yellow Cab Of Everett/Snohomish County Closed: A Conversation With The Owner & Wilson Defeats Harrell & What The Novelist Steinbeck Wrote About Racial Discrimination & Anyone Looking For A Taxicab Lobbyist?

 Poof! A Sixty Car Cab Company is No More

A blog commenter alerted me to the demise of Everett Yellow.  Searching for media concerning its death I found nothing at all about it, Everett Yellow bludgeoned in the middle of night, its bloodied corpse left on the sidewalk, all evidence hosed away.  Melodramatic description perhaps but what is happening to the American taxi industry is akin to a horror film, with all of us in the audience fleeing the theatre screaming.  The situation is bad, and reaching out to Adisu R., the once owner, and someone I knew in passing, he filled me in on what happened.

He shut down the company last year or was it last month?  What was interesting is that he couldn't tell me the exact date, trauma perhaps extinguishing his memory.  Asking him for specifics, he said he had been down to 15 cabs upon quitting, down from the original 60.  What then exactly happened?

He said Uber killed his business, that and high insurance rates making it no longer viable to run a big taxi company in the population base of 864,000 comprising Snohomish County.  I remember seeing their cars every day delivering medical account customers down to Seattle's hospitals but obviously all that kind of business disappeared, much of it probably taken up by so-called medical transportation companies undercutting taxi rates.  He said it no longer made any sense to stay in business, unable to make employee payroll and meet all the other costs attached to running a business.  

He gave the impression that he had no regrets quitting, saying more than once that, in the end, overall he had made some money, implying he was glad to be rid of his big taxicab headache.  For those don't know, those original 60 cabs, divided into day and night shifts translated into 120 cabbies, a taxi menagerie of every conceivable personality.  Dealing with all those drivers had to be a daily challenge.  He briefly alluded to that, noting the transitions made by a mostly newly arrived immigrant workforce, something many struggled with.  

I have always said that it takes five years for someone to become a truly professional cabbie, so putting rookies out into the meat grinder that is taxi is inherently unkind.  Too many accidents, he said.  That's right, I responded, BYG (Seattle Yellow Co-op), at the end, was paying something like $11,000 per year per cab for insurance due to rookie at-fault accidents.  Neither a sustainable nor wise practice, placing your businesses' wellbeing in the hands of neophytes. 

We talked for a maximum of about 8-10 minutes but I heard the history, the undercurrent of too many taxi years in his voice and words.  Taxi will do that to you, exhausting you to your very fiber.  Taxi was and is always about making the big money though sometimes customer service is lost in the rush for the green.  Anything beyond that  incentive usually held little value to the individual driver residing in a living hell that's never fun even if the vast majority of your passengers are angels, perdition forever anointing the cabbie's brow.  

Who is that smiling over your shoulder, you say?  Why Mister Beelzebub of course, Lord of all us flying demons zooming down God's highway!  For big time owners like Adisu, it was a flight down into an unavoidable bankruptcy, spiritual if not monetary, a dead-end that could never be described as heaven or paradise, never again achieving economic absolution, all benedictions tossed into the rubbish pile---bent and dented taxicabs stacked ever skyward reaching up to stormy, thunderous clouds.

More Than Just the Defeat of an Individual

It ultimately was a close race but Katie Wilson's victory over Bruce Harrell was more about objective examination of real problems facing Seattle than a rhetorical rant that everything is fine when clearly that isn't true.  Having first moved to Seattle in 1973, I saw the change from an affordable city to an unaffordable nightmare that defies commonsense.  One survey I read before I left last year Seattle listed Seattle at number 16 in overall costs in over 1000 cities with a population of over 500,000.  In other terms, Seattle is one of the most expensive places to live on planet Earth.  Since it remains an impossible commute to Saturn or Neptune, this planet is our home, and since that is true, all of us must ensure that we can live here within acceptable means.  

Harrell overall attitude all along, whether mayor or city council-member, is that everything is okay in Seattle, only requiring a few twerks or adjustments.  Maybe that is because he has 15 million dollars in the bank to sit on.  Most don't which is why Katie Wilson's election victory resonates, telling everyone a new realism is both necessary and here.  Upon her election, Wilson, along with her husband and 2-year old daughter, resided in a 600 square foot apartment.  Depending on which part of Seattle she is living in, that translates to a rent between $1500-3000. per month.  And what about utilities? 

I leave it to you cabbies in Seattle and King County to inform Wilson the dire reality facing the local taxi industry.  Make your case as to its value to the community.  I know she will listen.  This might be your last opportunity to save the cultural heritage that is an over 100 year-old industry.   Any hesitation will allow Waymo to literally run you over.  Get on that telephone and talk to Katie Wilson.  She will take your call. 

John Steinbeck's Words of Wisdom

Recently I found this remarkable little paperback by John Steinbeck, "America and Americans," published in 1966. Steinbeck, 1902-1968, was certainly one of America's great 20th C novelists.  I read his "The Red Pony (1933) when I was nine, and his "The Winter of Our Discontent" (1961) might be his best. I read "Of Mice and Men (1937) when I was a teenager.  I later formed a grudge again him due to his support for the Vietnam War but after reading his chapter "Created Equal" from this portrayal of the USA and its people, I clearly saw that the man knew his history and only wished the best for his fellow Americans.  

I feel compelled to share a quote from page 77 because it speaks to the reality faced by brown and black skinned cabbies in the USA, be it Seattle or New York City.  Racial hatred only makes a difficult occupation even harder.  Many of my East African cabbie friends were extremely well educated, speaking multiple languages but still, once upon arriving upon America's shores, found themselves prevented from practicing their professions, discriminatory rules making it clear some positions reserved only if you were white, and preferably from the UK, Australia, South Africa, Canada.  That why Steinbeck's words are relevant and pertinent to today's workaday world.

    "Some years ago, a very intelligent Negro man worked for me in New York.  One afternoon through the window I saw this man coming home from the store.  As he rounded the corner, a drunk, fat white woman came barreling out of a saloon, slipped on the icy pavement, and fell.  Instantly, the man turned at right angles and crossed the street, keeping as far away from the woman as he could. When he came into the house I said, "I saw that. Why did you do it?"

    "Oh, that.  Well, I guess I thought if I went to help her she was so drunk and mad she might start yelling 'rape'."

     "That was a pretty quick reaction," I said.

     "Maybe," he said; "but I've been practicing to be a Negro for a long time"

_____________________________________________________________

As I have written in these pages over the years, in the cab I have been accused of every horrible crime possible by deranged, vengeful passengers.  And too often I was targeted by cops looking for an excuse to punish me.  Given my experience, I know it was many times worse for my black and brown immigrant taxi colleagues.  

As I wrote recently, my American black friend Pavel was followed up onto the high level West Seattle freeway bridge by a WA State Highway Patrol officer, issuing him a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt.  Anyone in Seattle knows that stretch of highway is hazardous, and stopping for any reason on that roadway is to risk your life.  That explains why Steinbeck's friend said what he said, knowing anything involving a white woman could be trouble. I am sure he was very aware that the 14-year-old Emmett Till was murdered in 1955 in Mississippi by a mob for allegedly whistling at a white woman.  Merely having black skin was excuse enough to get you killed. 

Could the fact be that the American taxi industry in 2012, when Uber decided to start operating, was no longer an industry populated by a majority of white drivers but black and brown immigrants, providing government regulators the excuse to give the industry a swift kick in the buttock?   Remember, it was someone no less powerful than then VP Biden who gave a Davos  Economic Conference speech praising that new transportation upstart, Uber.  And Uber's founders were very white and very Upper Middle Class. 

Good luck trying to find Steinbeck's obscure book but it is well worth the search.  It might have been his last book, published two years before his sudden death by heart attack in 1968.

America's Taxi Industry Needs A Lobbyist Before it is Run Over by Waymo

The past few weeks I've been reading all these articles about Waymo and the autonomous car industry in general, and the conclusion I've come to is that if the USA taxicab industry remains mute, it is done for.  Five years ago, talking about robotic-cabs with my fellow cabbie scoundrels at the Amtrak station, I kept saying it just wasn't possible. 

Well, I admit I was dead wrong.  Waymo and everyone else is coming for taxi's throat, and even with resistance, there is a 90% chance they are going to win anyway but doing nothing should not be an option.  Their momentum must be slowed and, after thinking about it, the only way that will happen is to gain allies on a governmental level, that is, on the municipal, county, state, port authority, and yes, even the federal level.  And this conversation needs to start, without delay, next year.  

And who should be considered for this David vs Goliath battle?  Me.  I nominate me as a prime candidate.  Do I want to do it?  Yes and no is the honest answer.  But please allow we to state my case, as I know many readers know little about me.  But folks, I am a fighter, and you will soon read about my battles.  

Being a fighter stems from my childhood, having moved yearly, making me the "new kid in town," and thus a convenient target for bullies.  Skipping the details, I never lost a fight if for no other reason that my survival depended on it.  And I rarely used my fists, instead relying upon inherited wrestling skills to bring my opponents to bay.  I abhor violence. 

My first big victory occurred when I was 18 and facing conscription into the US Army.  I just wasn't interested in participating with the US military in any way, and thus applied and received my 1-0 (CO) exemption from my draft board in Brighton, Colorado.  I mention the Adams County seat as further example of my improbable victory because in November 1972 Brighton was clearly GOP Cowboy flag-waving country and that they found me sincere in my testament is simply amazing, believing this ragtag hippie standing before them, hippie hat in hand. 

I could talk then and I can talk now.  And much more was personally at stake than simply not getting my exemption because, having already decided to refuse induction, my obstinate stance would have translated into a two-year prison term at an Federal work prison located in the hot Arizona sun.  To me the US Government was just another bully attempting to kick sand in my face.  I regard Waymo and all the billionaires backing autonomous self-driving cars similarly.  They don't intimidate me, knowing they are wrong and I am right.   

In terms of my taxi resume, I have 35 plus years experience beneath the toplight.  And brothers and sisters, I know abuse from all quarters, you name it I've had venom of every imaginal toxicity directed my way.  It is something that only a cabbie can know, which is why well-meaning non-cabbies are not who we need to speak to those holding the keys to government. 

If anyone wonders why I have written so negatively about the late Seattle Yellow GM Frank Dogwilla, in part it has to do with the many threats he made against me, disliking my advocacy for the commonplace cabbie.  All of this threatening behavior was spoken minus witnesses, knowing better than advertising his poison.  One afternoon he cornered me in a restroom after one of Craig Leisy's TAG (Taxi Advisory Group) meetings.  Dogwilla snarled, the angry Doberman he was. 

And of course the dishonest cops and deranged passengers were simply part of this kind of scenery.  Only other cabbies can understand my pain, an agony I can translate, assisting government with understanding exactly who we are and what we need, demystifying what is confounding to the uninitiated. 

But to be more specific, I led that ill-fated cab industry lawsuit against King County and their illegal maneuvering concerning their Green Cab initiative.  Amongst the titles I held during that nearly two-year long battle was president of the Alliance of Taxi Associations. In short I was the appointed leader of over three thousand cabbies, the vast majority I never personally met but over the years guys would come up and thank me for my efforts upon their behalf.  Though we lost due to King County out spending us, what I appreciated most was the trust many had for me, knowing how suspicious and paranoid cabbies can get, their belief in my credibility a true gift I have always valued.  They knew I would never lie to them, which was true, only expressing the unvarnished truth of what we were trying to accomplish.  

After that campaign, I was nominated to be a member of that ill-fated and dysfunctional political entity known as the Seattle & King County Taxi Commission.  During my second year I served as Chair.  It was a very extremely frustrating experience because we were a commission in name only, as no one in local government took us seriously, any concerns voiced by us were ignored.  Knowing we had no real power, the attitude I encountered was worse than indifference, the commission treated like it didn't exist, and in real terms I suppose it didn't.  Adding to the chaos were the non-cab industry members lack of understanding but that didn't stop them from being disruptive and unhelpful.  My only benefit gained was viewing government from the inside. That was educational.

Parallel to this in time was my personal insertion into the State of Washington Department of Labor & Industry's new punitive fee structure  initiative aimed at the entire State of Washington's taxicab industry.  L&I were holding various public forums concerning their potential monetary requests, and after attending one in Renton, Washington, I realized how drastically the taxi industry could be impacted financially if  everything L&I  was proposing came into effect.  A week later I found myself in Olympia as the sole representative from Seattle and King County providing evidence to the assembled forum. 

Thankfully my testimony was compelling, because suddenly I was invited invited upstairs and found myself in a room with five concerned L&I regulators.  The outcome of this meeting resulted in a request for half of what was initially projected.   In a quick instant I saved the combined state industry millions of dollars annually.  For my good work, BYG/Yellow Cab wrote me a check for $1,500.00 dollars.  What would have happened if I hadn't personally intervened?  Nothing good is the sad answer.

Add all this up, and I believe I can be effective.  Add in my professional experience, as I was a psychiatric case manager when I started driving cab PT in 1987, you have someone who can speak to people in authority and power.  Reaching back even further, for three years in San Francisco I was the poetry editor for a magazine with a quarterly circulation of 10,000 copies, this when I was a mere 23 year-old, further backing my assertion that I am a reasonably capable human animal, knowing when to bark, when to purr.  

As I will be out of the country beginning December 9th, and not returning until January 19th, any interest in my proposal should be communicated by email: jbyello@yahoo.com.  After that, you can call me at 206-778-0226.

My longtime companion, she who is known in these pages as "she-who-can't-be-named," calls me a "wildcard" and that is pretty much a correct assessment.  I have at times scared the more conservative elements in the taxi world, misinterpreting my vigor and approach.  My background is varied to the point that many find it confusing, certainly wondering how I ended up driving cab.  I was once married to a millionaire's daughter.  I've worked in psychiatric wards and ran half-way houses.  I understand the high and low strata of life and society.  I can reach the crazy, I can reach the sane and everyone in-between. Dogs and cats like me too. 

Some will say that this informal application is merely confusing. But I say, to the contrary, I have accurately outlined who I am.  And folks, you don't have half of my story but believe me I can make things happen. When I was in my cab, I was unstoppable.  I made taxi happen down those rutted roads. I averaged 30% tipping.  There are real reasons why I was generously tipped, and not merely due my wonderful smile and engaging personality!  Could it have been because I was the quickest from Point A to B?  Maybe. 

How Many Cabs Does Seattle Yellow (PSD) Have?

It is disappointing to me that much of the information I get my from Seattle taxi buddies is sometimes less than accurate.  More than one source said that Yellow's total number of operating cabs was down to as little as 130. A far more reliable source stated that as of November 2nd, 2025, Yellow had 265 cabs.  Why the discrepancy?  Emotion caused by too many years of powerlessness generated by associations and companies holding too much power over drivers and single owner/operators is the simple answer.  Being powerless creates a variety of responses: resentment, anger, hatred, madness, rebellion, helplessness, all helping to explain why some of what I am told is not completely reliable. I encourage everyone involved to remember that real human lives are affected by decisions made.  All we are is human.  That reality should be respected when making decisions that have real impacts upon others. Like a pinball machine, with too much shaking the human brain goes "tilt" and stops working properly. Seattle's cabbies have endured much stress since 2012.  It is bound to have an affect.