Eureka!

The Gestation, Birth and Development of a Brilliant Idea.

Unless you’ve been hiding somewhere in a cave in one of those “_istan” countries or cities (there were apparently more vacancies there than previously thought), you’ve probably heard at least parts of two recent news stories out of Gotham City:

• NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg – pronouncing himself the head savior and sugardaddy of us unfortunate Rust Belt hayseeds who have remained in the Detroit area – proposed that a law be passed letting immigrants “go to Detroit and live there for five to 10 years, start businesses, take jobs, or whatever.” This, according to Bloomberg, “would populate Detroit overnight because half the world wants to come here…you could use immigration policy at no cost to the country to fix a lot of the problems that we have.”
• The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has chosen Nissan Motor Company to exclusively design and supply its next generation of taxis beginning in 2013. The taxis will be manufactured in Mexico.

Brilliance. I was awestricken…twice. Hey, Mikey, you’re a billionaire. Do I really have to remind you of a couple of things?

1. Generally speaking, when people go to areas to start businesses, it’s a good idea to have actual “customers” who reside nearby. This, I’m told, helps contribute to their success.

2. There are U.S. companies who make great vehicles. Symbolically speaking, do you think the largest city in the country should have thought longer and harder about its national responsibilities? We’re not talking about Lamborghinis here. Cabs, buddy…cabs.

So, last week when I played hooky to attend a Tigers/Yankees game at Comerica, an “Aha” moment occurred while driving downtown. While trying to find the perfect parking lot to accommodate a desire to try a new Cuban restaurant, as well as be within reasonable walking distance of the ballpark, I was reminded of the complexity of downtown Detroit’s street layout.

I was also reminded (in no certain order) of: potholes, road construction, pedestrians who are oblivious to the presence of 5,000 lb. vehicles, abandoned apartment buildings, available retail storefronts, devil-may-care drivers, traffic lights that have no apparent timing logic, double-parked commercial vehicles AND the need to watch where I was going at all times.

“If you can navigate this maze successfully,” I said to my passenger, “you can drive anywhere.”

BINGO!!

At that exact moment, the solution to several of the problems that Sugardaddy Mike referred to came to me in a flash:

Let’s make Detroit the nation’s capital of Education, Training and Certification of Taxi and Limousine Drivers! If you’ve ever been a passenger in a New York cab (or in other major metropolitan areas), your soiled, sweat-stained clothes were probably an indicator of the need for greater government regulation on the training and certification of these deodorant-deprived, Hell’s Angels wannabes. And, the certification process should be repeated on a regularly scheduled basis; say every five years.

Potential? In 2008, there were 232,300 taxi drivers and chauffeurs registered in the U.S., and by 2018 it’s projected to be around 300,000.

Think about the advantages, the full list of which could rival the length of a typical piece of federal legislation:

JOBS CREATION: Schools would have to hire thousands of staff members – instructors, administrators, maintenance personnel, security – not to mention all the jobs created in other industries: food services, medical, health and wellness, insurance, mechanics, parking lot attendants, etc.

UTILIZATION OF EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE: What better place to train cabbies than in Detroit? If you can learn in a bustling environment with a street layout like this…

…imagine how EASY it would be to safely and efficiently operate a taxi in a layout as simple as Manhattan’s:

BUILDING TRADES: The trades would be booming due to the huge demand for housing, hotels, restaurants, stores, entertainment venues, etc. And, with the basic infrastructure in place, sitting unused in many cases, we can set a national example in reclaiming, revitalizing and repurposing existing structures. (Environmentally responsible).

ECONOMIC WINDFALL: The aforementioned stores, restaurants and entertainment venues – not to mention the airline and hotel industries — would thrive, with the constant in/out flow of students from around the country. Eventually it could be expanded to include international programs (left-hand-drive vehicles and traffic patterns could be given designated days exclusive to their needs).

SUPPORT OUR OEMs: The cabs would be designed and supplied by local, U.S.-based auto manufacturers. You know…kind of a “mulligan” for NYC’s, um, curious purchasing decision.

DIVERSITY GALORE: Ever seen NY cab drivers? (Sing it with me: “Weee are the wuuuurld, weee are the chillllldren…”). The possible beginning of a new cultural mecca.

A HAPPY GOVERNMENT: All kinds of places to pump our tax dollars into: schools, grants, shovel-ready projects.

ENTREPRENEURIAL HEAVEN (see “Diversity Galore” above): Can you imagine how many different ethnic restaurants that would spring up?  And, since a sizeable percentage of the patronage would actually be of matching ethnicity, the quality and authenticity of the products would be high.

That’s it…that’s the plan in a nutshell. And what do I want in return? Maybe a plaque from the Mayor, acknowledgement by the media – but also the exclusive contract for all branding, identity, marketing and related creative materials from each of the institutions of learning, for the foreseeable future. I promise them great returns on those investments.

Like the idea? Then pass it on. Maybe we can get some “momentum” going here.