Cabbie Union Supports Fare Hike, Wants More Surcharges [POLL]

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance backed the city’s plan for a yellow-cab fare increase – but want a bigger hike, says the New York Post.

“We call upon the city to . . . enact a new morning rush-hour surcharge [of $1] from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and to increase the night surcharge, which has remained the same for 17 long years,” from 50 cents to $1, said NYTWA director Bhairavi Desai, in a statement obtained by the Post.

The new plan would keep the $2.50 base fare the same, but increase the metered fare to 50 cents – up from 40 cents – for every one-fifth of a mile traveled or 60 seconds of idling time.

The Post says that according to the city’s estimates, the average taxi ride will increase from $11.82 to about $14. The article says that the proposal would also raise the cost of a trip between Manhattan and JFK Airport from $45 to $52, but would also eliminate the 5 percent surcharge that drivers pay on every credit-card transaction.

Last month, it was reported that taxi fleet owners wanted , to keep up with rising gas prices.

“It’s not a huge payday, but anything is better than nothing,” cab driver Shiv Seemongal, 60, told the Post. 

The article also reports that City Council today is set to pass a bill today that would up the fines for illegal cabs from $200 to $1,500.