Move would make rate among highest in nationThe drivers, newly organized by the United Steelworkers union, have asked Boston for the first increase in their per-mile fare in six years - a proposal that would make a city cab ride one of the most expensive in the nation. If approved by the Police Department, which regulates taxi fares, the cost of a 4-mile ride would go from $11.55 to $16.70. (That's laughably ridiculous).
The proposal, which the city has agreed to review at a public hearing, would increase the per-mile rate by 50 percent and the starting fare from $2.25 to $2.75.
The drivers, many of them recent immigrants, say the request is a matter of basic economics. They work 12- to 16-hour shifts, five or six days a week. They pay $77 a day to lease a medallion. They shell out $60 for gas every shift. And their battered Crown Victorias - when they are not in the repair shop - gulp a gallon of gas every 10 miles. (Why don't they use different vehicles then? Like New York City?)
Posts
