Prince William County officials Tuesday approved a measure to raise taxicab fares starting Wednesday.
The county’s previous taxi fares were $1.80 per mile and 15 cents for every 27 seconds of waiting time, or $20 per hour. The adopted amendments would increase the fare to $2 per mile and 20 cents per 32 seconds of waiting time, or $22.50 per hour.
Rising gas prices prompted the county Board of Supervisors to enact an emergency 60-day ordinance June 3 for a $1 fuel surcharge for each cab ride. The board extended the measure Aug. 5.
With the amended fare rates, the emergency ordinance would end Tuesday.
The county code requires a public hearing for changes in the rates, fares, or charges for taxicabs, so the item was on Tuesday’s board agenda under the “public hearing” category. There was no one present to discuss the matter, however, so the board passed the ordinance unanimously.
A memo from Chief of Police Charlie Deane to County Executive Craig Gerhart said that, since the board approved the last fare increase in 2005, the price of gasoline has risen by more than 50 percent.
“The rate increase will keep Prince William County current with industry standards in Northern Virginia,” Deane wrote. “The current standard in Northern Virginia is between $1.75 and $2.04 per mile, with an overall average of $22.50 per hour of waiting time.”
The Police Department’s Administrative Support Services Bureau acts as an intermediary between the board-appointed Taxicab Review Board, certificate holders and drivers.
Taxi drivers will continue to be able to charge $1 for animals not held by a passenger or assisting a handicapped person. If an animal should “litter” a cab, the driver can charge up to $25.
A “personal service” charge of up to $2 also will remain for a service that requires the driver to leave the vicinity of the cab.
