New year will bring higher taxi fares in St. John's as council approves 23% increase

It's going to get more expensive to take a cab in St. John's after city council voted unanimously Monday night to increase taxi rates by about23 per cent.

The flag rate the fee charged when a customer gets in a cab is going up 75 cents, to $4.50. The price per kilometre is going up 50 cents, to $2.50, and the waiting time will jump up by $8 per hour, to $40.50.The price change takes effect Jan. 3.

After the meeting, Coun. Maggie Burton said she's aware theincrease will have a negative impact on people who frequently use taxis.

"I want to apologize for the impact that this will have on people who rely on taxis heavily but it's more important to me that taxis remain on the road instead of them being on the same rate they were 10 years ago," she said.

"I think a situation where a taxi is not available is a very bad one for the safety of lots of people."

But with companies are having a hard time finding drivers because of the low pay, she said,increasing prices is better than having no taxis at all.

"We want to remain a sustainable place for people to drive taxis," said Burton.

Right now, the price to get from downtown to the St. John's International Airport is about $21.25 but when fares increase it will cost over $26. A taxi ride from downtown to Southlands Community Centre will go from about $30 to $37.

Burton said cab companies have asked the city for a fare increase due to a 200 per cent increase in insurance rates, the high price of gas, and ageneral increase in the cost of living over the past 10 years.

Burton said the city took that into account along withincreases to theminimum wage and the consumer price index for transportation to come up with a 23 per cent increase.

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Beyond taxis, Burton said, council's goal is to make public transportation more accessible so people can use other, cheaper options.

The city has worked with the provincial government on initiatives like the low-income bus pass and is working on implementing the first phase of the frequent transit network a network of routes that connect key destinations which Burton said should be helpful for some.

"We know that it's hard to get around the city efficiently by any means of transportation if you are a low-income individual. I want people to know that we are actively working on a full transportation network."

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