Taxi Driver Online

Taxi Tax" could be 60 cents


A proposal by town administration to levy a transaction fee of 60 cents per taxi ride and install meters leaves many taxi owners feeling embattled in this economy with overhead increasing and passenger numbers dwindling.

At the Dec. 10 Board of Selectmen's meeting, town administration proposed a fee of 60 cents for each taxi trip.

If taxi fares do not increase, the surcharge will come out of the pocket of the taxi owner, said Ken Murray, a longtime driver for Bev's Taxi.

Gas prices dropped from a high this summer of $5 to just under $3 per gallon this fall and the Selectmen believe that taxi owners and passengers can absorb the sixty cents fee.

According to town administration, the state allows for a municipality to levy a surcharge of 60 cents per taxi trip. The town estimates the new "Taxi Tax" will bring in $131,400 in revenue per year.

"The fares did not go up because of the gas prices," said Murray. "The fares increased because we are so underpaid. This year, even with the new fares, I am making less. Three of my regulars are now walking every day. Of all the studies done, we are the least paid cabs. Look at Martha's Vineyard and the mainland."

It can cost as much as $20 for a six mile cab ride on the island and this does not include tip.

"It costs about $20,000 a year to keep a taxi on the road - with insurance at $8,000, permits at $300 and a meter at $600," said Jon St. Laurent, president of the Nantucket Taxi Association, which represents around 25 taxi owners. There are 40 taxi owners on island. "They [Selectmen] are not building in a surcharge. Where are we going to charge another 60 cents? I estimate 2,000 trips a year of $1,500 [per cab]."

Murray said that drivers are responsible for paying to have the gas tanks full at the end of the shift and for cleaning the interior and exterior of the cabs.

"The hotel concierges won't let us pick up fares at their hotels with a dirty cab. Sometimes they take a peek inside. The Jared Coffin House and the White Elephant will only call certain cab companies. I spend about $500 a year on car washes."

In the off season, Murray said he can earn as little at $10 a day after paying for gas and a percentage of the fares to the taxi owner.

"I don't know why the town is doing what it is doing," said Murray of the proposed transaction fee. "Bev Topham is 74 years old. The driver will suffer as much as the owner. Bev will have to write out a check once a month. We have to work hard in the summer to earn our money in the winter."

As of June 1, island cab drivers will be charging fares based on meters instead of on the current method of zones. The meters will cost about $500 to install. Although it has been two years in the planning process, taxi owners are not embracing the meters.

At last week's Board of Selectmen's meeting, Diane Coombs noted that a meter has to be certified and should the island's only car dealership either sell or discontinue his business, there would be no local authority to certify the meters.

"Martha's Vineyard works on a zone business. Is there so much cheating going on that we are forced in Nantucket to go to a meter system?" asked Coombs.

While the 60 cents-surcharge is one of the proposals on the table to help bridge the $3.8 million revenue shortfall the town predicts for FY10, the meters are to give more accuracy to fares.

"Often when we have a complaint from the general public it is because they don't understand the charges. Some of these rates are rather high and surprise the passenger," said Police Chief William Pittman. "And, Massachusetts General Law requires that any devise used to measure weight, time or distance that determines a charge or fare must be certified by the Commonwealth for such purposes."

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