A newly approved surcharge of $1 per taxi ride is expected to help Fairfax County cab drivers — a group hit hard in the pocketbook by spiking gas prices.
The charge will allow drivers, who pay for their own gas, to recoup some of their costs, said David Reidenbach, director of the county’s Consumer Protection Department.
“This goes straight into the driver’s pocket,” he said.
He said the county’s four cab companies initiated the push for the surcharge, which was approved last week by the Board of Supervisors. Under the change, which went into effect June 6, any ride in a Fairfax County-licensed taxi will net the extra fee. The surcharge expires July 31, at which point the county will examine extending it through January 2007, he said.
Gas prices in the District, which more closely reflect Northern Virginia prices than those in other parts of Virginia, were an average $3.15 per gallon on Monday, according to AAA, up from $2.26 per gallon this time last year.
Added fuel costs have tagged between $100 and $150 per week onto a cab driver’s weekly expenditures, said Michael Sodhi, general manager of Springfield Yellow Cab. Reidenbach, however, believes that estimate might be too high.
Sodhi expects drivers to work longer to make up for the increase.
“So a 10-hour day turns into an 11-hour day or a 12-hour day,” he said.
Ken Aggrey, general manager of White Top Cab Company, which runs 67 cabs in Fairfax County, said he believes the surcharge will aid drivers, though they remain at the mercy of gas prices.
“They have no choice,” he said. “They have to buy at whatever price they charge at the pump.”
Taxicab surcharges are not new in Fairfax County
A number have been put in place since 2004:
» July 19 through Dec. 31, 2004 – 50 cents
» Oct. 18 through Nov. 21, 2005 – $1
» Nov. 22, 2005, through April 30 – $1
» June 6 through July 31 – $1
Source: Department of Cable Communi-cations and Consumer Protection
