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The taxicabs of the United States make up a mature system; most U.S. cities have a licensing scheme which restricts the number of taxicabs allowed. As of 2012, in the United States: the total number of taxi cab drivers is 233,900; the average annual salary of a taxi cab driver is $22,820; the expected percent job increase over the next 10 years is 16%.〔http://www.statisticbrain.com/taxi-cab-statistics/〕〔http://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/taxi-drivers-and-chauffeurs.htm〕 In New York City a 'medallion' is required in order to legally pick up passengers flagging on the street. Very few other cities have medallions, and most cities never allowed City permits to be traded at will by the public—but in New York City the medallion represents an investment instrument that has soared in value to astronomical heights. Medallions, or CPNC (Certificate of Public Necessity and Convenience), may also be sold in Boston, or Chicago, but in San Francisco—one of the few other cities that has medallions—the sale of medallions became prohibited by Prop K in 1978. This proposition was adopted to stop speculators from driving the price of medallions up beyond the reach of the people who provide the service—the drivers. In 2010, the City of San Francisco is attempting to allow the sale of medallions (for an estimated $250,000 each) in order to balance the City budget. According to the Washington Post, medallions were "the best investment in America", but due to increased competition from app based car services and ridesharing growth from companies like Uber and Lyft taxi medallions are now decreasing in price.〔(Once a sure bet, taxi medallions becoming unsellable ), USA Today, Aamer Madhani, 18 May 2015〕〔(Under Pressure From Uber, Taxi Medallion Prices Are Plummeting ), Josh Barro, The New York Times, 27 Nov. 2014〕 Some taxicab companies are independently owned small businesses with only one taxicab and driver, but many cab companies have fleets of 100 or more taxicabs. Drivers are rarely employees of the company, and usually lease the taxicab on a per-shift basis. Lease drivers receive no benefits from the taxicab company, and often have to bribe dispatchers to get a shift.〔http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/07/14/for-cab-drivers-change-slow-come-city-taxi-industry/uVYtaqu0zGGTfI6N7pXDjO/story.html〕 However, in some cases, cabs can also be owned by separately-incorporated small businesses that subscribe to a dispatch service, in which case the company logo on the door is that of the dispatch association. The owner/driver will pay a monthly fee to the taxicab company; purchase and maintain his own vehicle; and may in turn lease shifts to other drivers.〔http://www.taxijazz.com〕 A suburban taxi company may operate under several different names serving several adjacent towns. They often provide different phone numbers for each fleet, but they usually all ring into a central dispatch office. They may have subsidiary taxi businesses holding licences in each town. Taxi companies also may run multiple businesses, such as non-taxi car services, delivery services, and school buses, for additional revenue, as the infrastructure required for maintaining, operating and dispatching the fleet can be shared. Taxi driving is considered one of the top 10 most dangerous jobs. One study concluded that taxi drivers had the fifth worst job of 2011. ==Boston== The City of Boston (Massachusetts)'s Police Department issues Hackney Carriage (Taxi) Licenses. The BPD Hackney Carriage Unit handles the regulation of the city's 1,825 medallion-taxis. To become one of the city's roughly 7,000 licensed Boston Hackney Carriage Drivers one must report to the Hackney Carriage Unit at Police Headquarters, located next to the Ruggles ''T'' MBTA-Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority station on the Orange Line. The applicant must produce documentation that he/she is legally eligible to work in the United States and must have had a Massachusetts driver's license for a minimum of one year. In addition, Hackney Officers will run a Criminal Records and Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles check on the applicant. According to an April 2011 study by the ''Chicago Dispatcher'', a Chicago taxi industry monthly newspaper, Boston has one of the highest standard cab fares in the country, charging an estimated $18.53 for a distance of five miles with five minutes wait time (compared to an estimated $14.57 in Philadelphia and $14.10 in New York City). It should be noted, however, that, due to the different rates set by each city's taxi regulators, renting a taxi for a 12-hour shift in Boston can also be more expensive than in New York City. Using figures from the ''New York Taxi & Limousine Commission'' and the Boston Police Department's Hackney Carriage Unit, actual rates for the Chicago newspaper's hypothetical five-mile trip with five minutes wait time in Boston is $18.60. In New York, the same trip can cost either $15, $15.50 or $16, depending on time of day, due to varying surcharges and the fifty-cents NY State Sales tax added to each fare. In virtually all industries the law of supply and demand affects prices charged to consumers, whether for goods or services. In the case of taxi service, the lower the number of residents and tourists in a city, the higher taxi fare rates are likely to be because of lower usage. New York City, the largest city in the United States, can easily afford to have lower taxi fares. The city's more than 12 million residents and 8.25 million visitors have created a vibrant non-stop city in which taxicabs find it difficult to stay empty for very long. The greatest number of taxi trips typically run less than three miles, which is where cabdrivers make the most money, due to the $3.50 "flag drop" (initial dollar-amount when the meter is started) at some of the busiest hours of the day. Chicago, the third largest U.S. city, has its own 49 million resident-tourist mix to keep it going at nearly as hectic a pace as the Big Apple, and Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, has its 4.6 million residents and visitors to make it fifth largest city in the United States. Boston, with fewer than 618,000 residents and 19 million tourists per year, America's "Cradle of Liberty" is far more compact. What's more, due to a combination of its age, its early Puritan roots and a large college student demographic, the area's mass transit closes up at 1:00am for four hours of maintenance and drinking establishments are shuttered by 2:00am. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Taxicabs of the United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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