A Brooklyn-based livery cab company is feeling the pinch more than most after the dramatic collapse of Lehman Brothers this week.
Corporate Transportation Group, which has a fleet of 1,400 vehicles in the city, had a contract with Lehman to shepherd thousands of the investment giant’s employees around town.
Now many of its drivers, who would normally line up for hours outside Lehman headquarters waiting for workers, have to spend more time driving to make up for the loss of income.
“We’re getting hammered,” said Eduard Slinin, 44, who started Corporate Transportation when he was 17 years old in 1982. “Lehman was one of our biggest clients. We would do 800 rides a night. We never believed Lehman would collapse. It’s like a bad dream.”
Slinin’s company has weathered other economic crises, like the Wall Street collapse in 1987 and the Sept. 11 terror attacks – but many drivers don’t see an end in sight to the chaos on Wall Street as rumors swell about other banking powerhouses.
Many of the drivers – who are independent contractors – are immigrants with families and mortgages, Slinin said.
“I’m working more now than I did three years ago,” said Nedal Farargeh, 34, of College Point, Queens, who has been driving since 1991 and whose wife recently became pregnant.
“The last two days, business has really gone down,” he said. “Everyone is worried about what’s going on.”
The company also counted Bear Stearns, which tanked earlier this year, as one of its clients.
“Our drivers are hurting,” said Joseph Civello, 44, a dispatcher for more than 20 years. “The price of fuel and insurance has been going through the roof.”
Fernando Mateo, head of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, said city livery drivers are trying to make the best of the bad economy.
“Our members are definitely suffering from it,” said Mateo. “A lot of drivers are losing income, but we’re not going to go out of business.”
Slinin said many people in his company, which operates in 450 cities around the world, are hopeful the economy will rebound.
“We spent a lot of money on hybrids,” said Slinin. “We hope the business is going to come back in the long term.”
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RadioFreeTaxi 10.05.08 at 5:10 pm
Bad times, but there are lot like you who read the website, but never comment anything! Can we?