Doom wrote:
captain cab wrote:
Doom wrote:
I didn't have time CC, I was just supporting the brother Manc cabby tbh.
good, I'll pass on your regards across the atlantic
CC
I thought in the OP it was Manchester UK you were refering to as there's also Salford quoted
Cab fares would drop 90 cents per mile under a recommendation approved yesterday by members of the aldermanic Committee on Administration and Information Systems. The measure wipes away a fare increase put in place last summer, when local taxi drivers complained historically high gas prices were swallowing their profits.
"Everybody knew the increase was temporary," said Alderman At-Large Dan O'Neil, the committee chairman.
Cab drivers chafed at the committee's decision, many saying the lower rates would threaten to put them out of business. Some told the aldermen they are barely scraping by with the fares as they are.
"A cut right now would be disastrous for us, especially with the summer, the slow time, coming," one driver, John Murray Jr., of Radio Cab, said in a phone interview before his night shift yesterday.
Employees from all three of the city's cab companies said they plan to petition the aldermen for a permanent fare hike. O'Neil promised the committee would consider the request, but told the drivers, "I'm not going to commit to you we'll take action one way or the other''.
Gas prices have come down by more than half since the aldermen raised fares for city taxis last June. A year ago, a gallon of regular gas was close to $4. Yesterday, the average price at gas stations in and around Manchester was $1.83, according to AAA.
The current rate for a cab ride is $2.40 a mile, plus a $3 riding fee and 25 cents for each additional passenger. The committee's recommendation, which must be approved by the full Board of Mayor and Aldermen, would reset the rate to $1.50 per mile, plus the extra fees.
Cab drivers noted there has not been a permanent fare increase in Manchester in more than eight years.
"We're getting paid in 2001 dollars, and it's not going to cut the cake in 2009," Queen City Taxi driver Al DiIulio said. "That's why we're all broke."
Dave Berthiaume, another Queen City Taxi driver, said he makes about $450 a week at the current rate. Almost all of his profits come in on Fridays and Saturday nights. The rest of the week, he said, he's lucky to make more than $40 a night.
"Taking 40 percent of our income away, we're not going to be able to pay our bills," he said.
O'Neil said he is cognizant of the fact that the drivers, and not the managers, are the ones paying to fill the cabs' tanks. Drivers also pay a nightly fee of $80 to $115 to lease the cab, depending on which company they work for.
O'Neil told the drivers to consider the possibility that the higher fares have been hurting their business, not helping it.
"I do hear from consumers out there that because of the price of a cab, they're not taking cabs. Plain and simple," he said.
In addition, O'Neil said the quality of taxi service in the city has been on the decline. He said the condition of the taxis has deteriorated and said he has noticed some drivers smoking in their cabs, possibly in violation of a city ordinance.
"We're going to bring the quality of cab service back up, because it's slipped a little," he said. "And I think that's part of why you've lost some volume." Aldermen had always planned to revisit the taxi rates early in 2009. The increase was supposed to sunset Jan. 30, but the deadline was extended so O'Neil's committee would have a chance to meet with representatives from the taxi companies.
Yesterday's vote to lower the rate passed, 3 to 0, with "yea" votes from Aldermen O'Neil, Ed Osborne and Real Pinard
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