But Mr. Murstein and a big shareholder in his company argue that the sale would be a boon, prompting a surge of interest in owning cabs.
In contrast, during the 1970's, almost every driver on the road owned his cab.
Rigoberto had heard about John from a couple of cousins who owned a cab; they came home one night with a story about a white guy who was out on the sidewalk on 147th Street making casts like Uncle Raul's casts, only the people were real.
A fat man named Clarky owned the cab company that employed him.
When the boycott ended, some of them formed their own cab companies to serve black customers.
He drove for the White Fleet and then ran his own cab, and he sang over his shoulder to his customers.
Mr. Nathan Spindel, who owns his own cab, heads a committee of cabdrivers who keep the cab-riding public informed of the seasonal salutes.
Jews are rare also; they organize the car services now, since the cost of a medallion to have your own cab is now a subject for sociologists.
The other Checker driver, Earl Johnson, had taken his own cab off the road after it failed a Taxi and Limousine Commission inspection.
But Mr. Aryee never forgot his taxi, and in August he bought his own cab so he could begin driving again.
He sometimes jogs in Central Park before work, buys his own cup of coffee, drops his daughters at the school bus and hails his own cab to the Fifth Avenue office building that houses his family's real estate business.
