Taxi Medallion System

Category: legal

A asset-licensing system where a government entity issues a transferable property permit required to operate a public-hire taxi cab.

The medallion system creates an artificial supply ceiling to protect driver income and regulate city congestion. Medallions function as tangible assets that can be purchased, financed, or leased to fleet management companies or independent operators. The value of these medallions fluctuates wildly based on the market penetration of competing unregulated peer-to-peer rideshare platforms.

Common Examples

• The corporate office managed a portfolio of one hundred urban taxi medallions, leasing them out to fleet operators on a weekly shift cadence.
• The historical collapse of taxi medallion equity values forced institutional lenders to re-evaluate their asset-backed financing underwriting standards.