Tired of worrying about the MTA fare hike that looms for 2013? Would you be interested in trading in your concerns for some fresh worries about a possible Taxi fare hike? Because with gas prices past $4-per-gallon the New York Taxi Workers Alliance is planning to ask the TLC next week for a 15 percent raise in fares. And the TLC's chairman, David Yassky, is not rejecting the idea out of hand.
The last full on rate hike hit our taxis seven years ago—though the cost of waiting went up in 2006 and a $.50 cent tax surcharge was added in 2009—and cab drivers, like everyone else, have been hurt by the economy. “We don’t think there should be a major fare raise in these economic times but we haven’t had one in seven years and if you expect us to provide the service of mass transit then you need to make it economically viable for us to do so,” Bhairavi Desai, the head of the NYTWA, said today.
For now, the TLC is taking the NYTWA's proposal seriously. "When gas hits $4.50 a gallon, it can make it hard for a driver to pay the rent and put food on the table," Yassky said earlier today. "We will give it a look and evaluate it on the merits."
According to Desai taxi drivers aren't looking for a change to the entry fee ($2.50), instead they want the per-mile metered rate to increase from $2 a mile to $2.40. They also want a $.10 rate increase, from $.40 to $.50 per minute, for when cabs are stuck or moving slowly in traffic. "It's not a huge increase," Desai said. A formal petition for a rate hike will be delivered to the TLC next week.
