S.L. cabbies request a 50¢ boost in fares

When gas hit $3 a gallon last fall, taxicab drivers were among those grumbling about the astronomical prices, and now those drivers have asked the Salt Lake City Council to approve a 50-cent hike in flag-drop rates to offset gas costs from the past six months.

The taxi drivers took cuts from their take-home pay every time they refilled their tanks. All of the proposed rate increase would go directly to drivers. The City Council is to discuss the increase during its meeting tonight but will not take formal action nor hold a public hearing until a future meeting.

"You have to have food every day, no matter what it costs," said Don Barron, an owner of Yellow Cab, the largest licensed cab company in Salt Lake City. "In a cab company, you have to have gas every day, no matter what it costs. We have to pay for the gas or we don't get any rides."

Cabs now charge $2 for flag drops, the basic charge as soon as a person hires the cab, plus $1.80 per mile. The three licensed cab companies in Salt Lake City — Yellow Cab, Ute Cab and City Cab — have asked for a half-dollar increase to the flag drop for six months.

The cab companies initially asked for a $1 increase to the flag-drop fee on Sept. 20, when the average price of gas in Salt Lake City was around $2.75 a gallon. Monday, though, Salt Lake City had the lowest price per gallon in the country at $2.22, according to www.gasbuddy.com.

The drivers petitioned the mayor's office for a temporary rate increase, and then took their case to Administrative Hearing Officer Michael Crippen. Crippen recommended the $0.50 increase and that all the additional money go strictly to the drivers, not the companies.

"Although gasoline prices have now retreated, it is fair, reasonable and necessary to compensate the taxicab drivers for the loss they suffered during the recent period of increased gasoline costs," said Crippen, who heard from the companies about raising rates in January.

Tourists who take cabs between the airport and downtown hotels would not likely notice the charge because taxi fares are inexpensive in Salt Lake City compared to other cities, said Scott Beck, president of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"One of the things that people always comment on is just the idea that things are so accessible here," Beck said. "We really don't receive negative complaints about the pricing of taxis."

Barron said that buying natural-gas cabs or other alternative-fuel cabs would cost about $25,000 instead of the $5,000 to $10,000 the company typically pays for a traditional used car. "You'd never get your money back from them," he said.

Setting up a company fueling station to sell gas at wholesale to his drivers wouldn't make sense either, Barron said, because it wouldn't be profitable enough for his company.

Besides, his drivers "buy their gas at the cheapest place in town," he added. "They're all smart enough to find the least expensive gas."

---

E-mail: kswinyard@desnews.com