City & State New York – The taxi medallion crisis has left New York City taxi drivers stuck with underwater loans amid a year-long pandemic that has sent decimated demand for cab rides, which were already dwindling because of ride-hail apps. Calls for a bailout plan and other reforms to help owner-drivers – people who own a medallion and drive their own cab – started long before the pandemic, but they’ve intensified in the last year as COVID-19 has thrown drivers into even more dire financial straits. 

By Annie McDonough