Fairfax County supervisors will consider a set of taxicab regulations today that would require an increasing number of new vehicles to meet tougher fuel efficiency standards over the next six years and mean a rate increase for passengers.
The regulations would force 60 percent of new taxis in a company’s fleet to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s combined city/highway rating of at least 25 miles per gallon by July 2014.
At the same time, the county would scrap a $2 fuel surcharge and replace it with a 25-cent-per-mile rate increase, to $2 a mile. The fare hasn’t been increased since 2005.
The changes have been considered for more than a year and represent a consensus between the county’s four cab companies and Fairfax County officials, said Steve Sinclair, chief of the utilities branch of the Fairfax County Department of Cable Communication and Consumer Protection.
During those discussions, the fuel efficiency standards were scaled back from an original proposal at the request of the industry, Sinclair said. In September, staffers had recommended mandating a 25-mile-per-gallon rating by 2010 for almost all new taxis.
Ken Aggrey, general manager of Fairfax White Top Cab, which runs 67 cabs and replaces the vehicles about every 5 years, said the measures give the company enough lead time to prepare for the changes.
“Compared to the price of gasoline right now, it is going to pay for itself,” he said.
The existing fleet of taxis in the county averages about 16 to 18 miles per gallon, according to a report from Fairfax County staff.
The regulations under consideration today would also prohibit a driver from using a cell phone or playing a radio over the objections of a passenger.
