Updated Dec. 15 at 8:32 p.m.
When the first ride-sharing companies arrived on the scene almost a decade ago, many thought they would spell the end of the traditional taxi industry. Then, the pandemic struck, and there was little hope that taxis would even survive.
But it is now clear to drivers and owners that the pandemic actually provided an opportunity for taxis to adapt and potentially thrive. The industry benefited government grant money and less competition from ride-sharing services during the pandemic. Now, shifts in pricing and new technology that allows customers to call cabs, just as they do ride-shares, is feeding optimism.
“We’re not back to our pre-Uber and Lyft days,” said Cheryl Horan, owner of the Green and Yellow Taxi Company in Somerville, “but we’re sustainable right now. And, actually, instead of losing money, we’re a little bit profitable, and we’re looking to expand on that and continue our success.”
It was the work taxis were doing just before the pandemic that ultimately helped them find a path forward. As their regular business was siphoned off by ride-share companies, taxis began providing non-emergency medical transportation for local residents. That service suddenly surged when the pandemic hit and the state stepped in to help, committing to doling out $1 million in subsidies through the Metropolitican Area Planning Council.
“[The state] released a lot of grant money for programs such as vaccinations and getting people to grocery shopping and medical appointments that were necessity transportation [because] they were afraid to go on public transportation,” Horan said.
Another upside for cabbies was the fact that many Uber and Lyft drivers stayed home during the pandemic, leaving taxis as the only alternative. Horan said that transporting people during the pandemic is what kept her company afloat.
“We supplied our drivers with Lysol wipes, the fogging of the vehicle, the plastic partition, masks, gloves,” she said. “We really felt that it was important to protect our drivers so that they could, in turn, protect the passengers that they were transporting.”
The future appears to be brightening for Boston-area taxis, but even with hope in the air, there’s still some uncertainty. And taxi drivers like Jose Rodriques know that, these days, you can’t wait for the business to come to you.
“I don’t like sitting around,” Rodriques said. “That’s why I don't play the airport. I do work the neighborhoods. People in the neighborhoods need taxis, and it’s so busy you can go to Dorchester, Roxbury — everywhere, and you will be busy all day long.”
He’s also seeking out riders with apps like WAAVE that allow users to call cabs from their phone like Uber or Lyft.
Taxis are also benefitting from pricing shifts, said Paolo Santi, a principal research scientist at MIT's Senseable Cities Lab and board member at Massachusetts nonprofit Way Forward Taxi Alliance. Better prices are what drew so many customers to ride shares in the first place. That’s changing.
“The prices of Uber and Lyft services initially were very low because they were subsidized by investors,” he said. “They just were burning money.”
But ride-sharing companies eventually had to raise rates to show a profit. Now, taxis are more competitive, something Rodriques has heard from his riders.
“I just took a gentleman from South Boston to Newton Heights,” he said. “An Uber wanted $80, and he actually used WAAVE, and it was $42.15. From the airport to Somerville, Uber wanted $50, and it was $27 with the taxi.”
Another indication that the industry is on the upswing is seen in the buying and selling of taxi medallions — the city-issued permits that allow taxis to operate.
There has been a big transition in the ownership of taxis, according to Chenelle Brown, director of external affairs at Way Forward Taxi Alliance. Gone are the large taxi fleets of the past. Now, there are more individual owners.
“The taxi industry in Boston essentially is largely made up of small, minority-owned businesses,” Brown said. “And I think that’s an important thing to note. A lot of medallions have been purchased over the last year or two.”
Those medallions used to go for $300,000 to $400,000 each, but now they cost about $18,000. The fact that medallions are being repurchased is a sign that some taxi drivers are optimistic they can make a go of it, Brown said.
There's hope that the taxi business, which was once thought as nearly dead, has plenty of life left in it.
Correction: A previous version of this article referred to the Way Forward Taxi Alliance as an MIT startup; it is a nonprofit trade association. Way Forward, WAAVE and MIT are unaffiliated entities. A previous version of this article also misattributed quotes from Paolo Santi as quotes from WAAVE CEO Dan Iger.
