Today, the yellow fleets continue to exert significant political clout, city officials say, because of their experience and organization.

The leading vessel of the yellow fleet moved.

As a result, fourteen cargo ships known as "The Yellow Fleet" remained trapped in the canal for over eight years.

First, the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission reported last week that 5 percent of cabbies in the yellow fleets lack valid driver's licenses.

Tyne and Wear Omnibus Company wore a livery of a white upper, dark blue lowers, with a green and maroon double stripe, and yellow fleet names.

It crossed Bond's mind that the South American president might have had it copied from the famous yellow fleet in which Lord Lonsdale had driven to the Derby and Ascot.

In an odd twist, one that also speaks to the shifting dynamics in the taxi industry, many livery fleet owners have found themselves on the same page as their yellow fleet counterparts when confronting the issue.

During the administration of Mayor Edward I. Koch, the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, which represented the yellow fleets, controlled the political agenda through its chief lobbyist, Stanley Friedman, the former head of the Bronx Democratic organization who blocked repeated efforts to increase the number of medallions.