Cabbies get raise, benefits; riders get fare hike

Hailing a cab is about to get pricier -- and the fare could go up again as soon as next year.

Cabbies won a huge victory Thursday when the Taxi and Limousine Commission approved a plan that will raise the fare an average of 17 percent, most of which will go to drivers. The TLC also kept down the amount cabbies pay fleet owners and eliminated a 5 percent credit card processing fee. The agency also promised to consider a fare hike every odd-numbered year, and to set aside 6 cents from each fare for a new health care fund for drivers.

"You need to make sure people can earn a decent living," TLC Commissioner David Yassky said after the plan passed by a vote of 6-2, with one abstention. "A taxi driver who works his or her tail off will earn enough to put food on the table and pay the rent."

The fare increase, set to go into effect in September, will be the first since 2006, and will raise the average cost of a 3-mile trip by about $1.75. Officials said the increase was necessary to offset a 25 percent drop in income that cabbies have seen in the past six years because of rising gas and operating costs.

Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the Taxi Workers Alliance, said Thursday's decision would ensure "a better future for generations of drivers."

"We just defeated the 1 percent," she said, referring to the taxi fleet owners who had heavily lobbied for an increase in the amount they can charge drivers to lease cabs. "Today is evidence that working people can still win in this society."

The TLC rejected a proposal from fleet owners to increase their cut while giving drivers a raise. Instead, fleet owners will get an extra $10 per shift to cover credit card processing fees, rather than collecting 5 percent of riders' payments from drivers.

The Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, which represents fleet owners, said it was considering legal action. The group successfully prevented the agency from issuing permits for its outer-borough taxi plan last month.