Officials with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commissiontold the New York City Council last week that prices for the city'staxicab medallions fell in 2013 and 2014, but added it wasdifficult to say how much.

Credit unions in the New York City area and in other cities havemade loans collateralized with the taxi medallions.

Competition from app-based transportation services has called the value of themedallions into question.

Testifying before City Council Chair Ydanis Rodriguez and 11other Council members, TLC Commissioner and Chair Meera Joshireported a small slide in the medallion's value.

According to New York media outlets, the value had fallen tobetween $872,000 to $1.3 million.

“It's really hard to draw conclusions from the data that aredefinitive,” Joshi testified. “Is it really $1.3 million to$872,000? In January 2014, sales ranged for individual medallionsbetween $1.5 million and $920,000.”

Joshi, continued, “As the year goes on, sales ranged between$875,000 and $1 million in one month. So it is difficult to saythat that depiction of 1.3 to 872 is an actual factually accuratecharacterization but I don't disagree as of late the transactionsthat have come in have had a lower range then they have had inmonths prior.”

The TLC is working to support medallion value by “leveling theplaying field” between the yellow cabs that require the medallionto operate and the Uber and Lyft companies which do not requirethem, Joshi testified.

He noted in an answer to a previous question that medallionvalues remained higher now than they were in 2011 and 2012, andthis reflected continued public support of the yellow cabindustry.

The Committee for Taxi Safety, which pushes for parity inregulatory treatment between the taxi and app-based transportationindustries, agreed with Joshi.

“The Committee for Taxi Safety agrees with the commissioner thatprotecting passengers and enhancing the City's ability to fundcritical services like public safety are interdependent ofeducation and having a vibrant medallion market place,” said theorganization's Executive Director, Tweeps Philipps. “But the Cityneeds to ensure that the revenue produced by the sale of medallionsthrough direct sales by the City, transfer taxes and taxespaid through every taxi trip that support the MTA are notthreatened by another licensee which generates no revenue streamsfor the City or the MTA. Uber pays no MTA tax and it'slicensees provide no direct revenue to the City.”