Cab fares would increase under plan council to consider
Zone system proposed for trips from airport to downtown or UT
February 23, 2010
By Sarah Coppola
Austin American Statesman
Taking a cab in Austin might soon be more expensive.
Austin’s three cab companies and the city’s Transportation Department are proposing to increase taxi rates 12.7 percent over the next three years. That means a six -mile trip, the average, will cost $15.50 by 2012 , $1.75 more than it does today. Those figures don’t include a gas surcharge that is currently 10 cents a mile.
Most Austin taxi drivers are independent contractors who pay for gas and upkeep of their cabs and pay fees to taxi companies. The proposed higher fares, which the City Council will consider Thursday , stem from a routine evaluation of cost of living and vehicle maintenance costs done every few years, city officials said. The fares would amount to a 29 percent increase since 2005 , the last time the city approved a plan to phase in higher rates.
The cab companies and city also want to create a zoned system for trips between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and downtown and for trips between the airport and the University of Texas. Those trips would cost the lesser of the metered fare or a set rate, to deter cab drivers from taking passengers on meandering trips to run up their fares, said Edward Kargbo , the general manager at Yellow Cab .
"A customer not familiar with the city would have assurance that they’ll be taken the shortest route to their destination," he said.
The proposal also says cab drivers could charge $13 or the metered rate, whichever is greater, for all rides from the airport. That $13 minimum would help compensate drivers who wait hours for customers who only need to go a few miles, said Steve Grassfield, the acting parking enterprise manager in the city’s transportation department.
Cab drivers wait in line at a parking lot near the airport, then are called to the terminal as cabs are needed.
The $13 minimum is needed and ideally should be even higher, said cab driver Les Ross, waiting in the lot on a recent weekday with a few dozen other cabs. "Sometimes you end up waiting two hours for someone who only needs to go down the road," he said. "It ruins your day and your attitude."
Like most other cities, Austin regulates the safety and number of cabs and the fares they charge in order to protect customers, Grassfield said. The city does not get a cut of taxi fares, though the cab companies pay $400 per taxi per year for city permits.
In 2005 , the council voted to increase taxi fares over five years, from $12 for a six -mile trip to $13.75 today.
Under the proposal, trips between the airport and Austin’s central business district, bounded by 19th Street , Riverside Drive , Barton Springs Road , Interstate 35 and Lamar Boulevard, would be the lesser of the metered fare or $23 in 2010, $24 in 2011 and $25 in 2012 .
Trips to and from the airport and the university campus area, bounded by 38th Street , 19th Street , Interstate 35 and Lamar Boulevard , would be the lesser of the metered fare or $27 in 2010 , $28 in 2011 and $29 in 2012 .
The changes would be posted at the airport and in taxis, Grassfield said. The proposal also says the city would review and possibly change the gas charge once every two months instead of once every three months, to deal with fluctuations in gas prices.
A separate item that the City Council will consider Thursday calls for a group made up of city staffers, the council-appointed Urban Transportation Commission, cab drivers and taxi company officials to research and recommend policy changes about several cab-related issues.
The resolution proposed by Council Members Bill Spelman, Mike Martinez and Chris Riley asks the group to look into the possibility of: creating a flat rate fare only for cab rides from the airport to downtown or UT; establishing a flat rate for trips within the downtown area; creating a fee a passenger would pay if a taxi must be removed from service for cleanup for damage caused by that customer; and adding cab stands in the warehouse district and other areas of downtown.
The idea of a flat rate for trips from the airport to downtown or UT differs from the "lesser of" formula proposed by the cab companies and city staffers. But Martinez said the two concepts do not conflict. He said he supports the fare changes staff members and taxi companies have proposed, and that the resolution will continue to address issues that drivers and commission members raised while developing those fare changes.
Rich MacKinnon , chairman of the Urban Transportation Commission, said a flat rate from the airport to UT or downtown "would be easier for a customer to understand, especially if it’s messaged well."
scoppola(at)statesman.com; 912-2939
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