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Cabbies Among First to See Ripples of Wall Street's Pain

Crashing markets mean fewer fares, smaller tips

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 20, 2008 2:13 PM CDT
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(Newser) – New York cabbies will tell you that their jobs are indicative of overall health of the economy—so they’re getting hammered right now. New York looks at one driver’s experience with the bubble-and-bust of recent years, with the halcyon days of bankers tossing him $40 for a $2.90 ride having degenerated into hours of cruising Wall Street, fruitlessly, for fares.

“Whenever I came here, I used to pick up a fare right away,” cabbie Pervaiz Waraich says in front of Goldman Sachs’ headquarters. Waraich has watched the crash first-hand—on the days of big market tumbles, many of his rides yell into their phones, slam doors and don’t tip. “I don’t think this economic crisis will end very soon,” he says.

A cab driver fills his taxi at a gas station in New York, Monday, May 12, 2008.
A cab driver fills his taxi at a gas station in New York, Monday, May 12, 2008.   (AP Photo/Jin Lee)
A taxi cab drives past a neon sign reflected in a puddle in Times Square, Sept. 6, 2008, in New York.
A taxi cab drives past a neon sign reflected in a puddle in Times Square, Sept. 6, 2008, in New York.   (AP Photo)
After years in which cabbies often saw shoving matches among Wall Streeters needing a taxi, now we%u2019re fighting each other to pick up the fare, one says.
After years in which cabbies often saw shoving matches among Wall Streeters needing a taxi, "now we%u2019re fighting each other to pick up the fare," one says.   (AP Photo)
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If the offices are closing, the businesses are closing, people are losing their jobs, and nobody is coming to Wall Street, who are we to pick up?
- Pervaiz Waraich, NY Taxi Driver

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