Starting this Sunday, an extra 50-cent surcharge will be added on all taxi rides.
The fare hike was passed by the state Legislature back in May as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $2.3 billion bailout plan.
The money collected will help fund mass transit.
Starting at 12:01 Sunday, all cab fares will include a 50-cent tax – increasing the base taxi fare from $2.50 to $3.
All cabs are required to have a sticker posted on the passenger doors alerting riders of the fare increase.
And although the fare hike was not supposed to take effect until this weekend, the Taxi and Limousine Commission says some cabs mistakenly charged the extra fee on a couple of days last week.
Meters from two suppliers accidentally put the 50-cent surcharge into effect a week early.
The mixup affected 288 meters, and about 4,000 trips were overcharged.
The errors were discovered in time to limit the number of affected cabs to about two percent.
The TLC says it’s made arrangements for the companies who make the meters to refund the overcharges.
If you believe you were overcharged, you can call 311 or submit a claim at nyc.gov/tlc.
Meanwhile, it’s not only taxi riders who will be paying more. Business owners are also sharing the burden.
Monday is the deadline for businesses to file their first quarterly payment of the state’s new .34 percent payroll tax.
The tax applies to businesses within the MTA’s 12 ridership counties, including all of the five boroughs.
Business owners with quarterly payrolls of at least $2,500 are required to pay up.
The MTA is planning another fare hike in 2011 as part of the deal approved by state lawmakers.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot...
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
I find it ironic that it has been almost six months since the tax law was passed and most drivers and passengers have been hiding their heads in the sand as if this didn’t happen. Now that it is going into effect they are complaining. Well that’s good but where were they all this time. Perhaps if they complained all along we would have had a chance to reverse this injustice. Perhaps that will yet happen!! Perhaps we can still vote all who made this happen out of the offices they don’t deserve!!
GARAGE DISPATCHERS MAKE ME PAY $5 TO GET TAXI,,I DONNT MIND IT BUT THEY FORCE ME THIS FREE COUNTRY HERE
http://ny1.com/5-manhattan-news-content/news_beats/transit/108143/taxi-fares-to-increase-this-sunday/
what the hell, we started working for MTA…. state tax , thats a fake cover up name, to fuck us over….when i file my fucken tax, i better not fucken pay state tax like i did last year, this better cover it and i better get money back cause im a student.. … you old people better make ur money fast and get out of this work . they are going to fuck you over month by month.. finish your school young ones, stop fucking up your lives and graduate, or your fucked, and u will end up with bladder and leg problems and not to mention mental and back problems.. enjoy.
u right my brother …we collecting money to the mta ….whos the mta ?????its the city the state whateve ….they all one body ….
ummm, smart cabbies are talking, let me listen to you
Here is how much money they gonna make from 50 cents:
13000 taxi cabs
2 shift per one taxi cab
30 trips for each cab
356 days per year
total is:13000.2.30.356.($1/2)=$138,840,000/year.it is 138 millon and 840 thousands dollars
is an average of $39,000 per day .wich is a sallary of a teacher or police officer, so this program will help provide the salary of 356 teachers in nyc.
The 50cents has been with us a month and I find it makes a huge difference in the tips and it is not because passengers are cheap. Most riders don’t even know about it and none of the tourists have a clue. It is due to the fact change is hardly used anymore. An example: a $9.20 fare and you get $10. Before the increase the fare is $8.80 and you get the same $10. How about $16.80? You get a $20. $16.40 and you get the same $20. Or $3.70? You get a five spot. $4.10 the same fiver. $8 you get $10. $8.40 the same ten. $18.20 or $18.60 the same $20. $31.80 or $32.20 and you get the same $35.Get the picture. This can easily occur ten times in one shift. It happeneds to me every shift. Thats five hard earned smackers getting pulled out of your wallet in one shift. This surcharge can easily cost a driver well over $100 a month. I feel terrific knowing that I am helping to pay for someones MTA health insurance and pension. Why should the transit fare be $2.50 when it is so easy to pass it on to a struggling cab driver. Thanks Governor.
Been reading your excellent blog for quite a few weeks now, and i am enjoying many of your excellent topics. Share a Cab Ride
This governor is a disgrasce and so are the democratic majority in both Houses. In another state They would have competition, in a two party system but here the democrats, the so called democrats, have the absolute power. Now Mr. Cuomo, the one who pretend to be the next governor is playig the conservative card promising to fight unions like We the workers are responsible for all the bad things happening with the economy, sure for them, including us the cab drivers. I hate this system…everyday more and more. Working the streets now in summer is even worse and worse. All what We doing is money for the MTA and 5% fee credit ard. I have fares ven less than $5.00 paid by credit card and I take home less and less., In 23 years I have not seen worse…until when> God only knows…..
See pics of JFK Hold bathrooms. Still the terrible condition of bathrooms at JFK Hold. What was it, 2 months ago an expose, and still the same? What did Yaasky do on his famous get to know you visit to the JFK hold talking to the cabbies? Maybe he did not enter it? See the pictures on this link from the New York Daily News. http: // www. nydailynews .com/ny_local/queens/2010/07/02/2010-07-02_hacks_flag_toilets_complain_jfk_bathrooms_are_a_nightmare.html
Here’s a link: Boston Taxi Owners Association files $1 million lawsuit against City over credit card rules: Example: say you make $650 weekly, take home a check of $500 weekly, suddenly you are taking home $425 weekly. This is what 6% credit card fees do to a cabbie’s pay. But, the paycheck is less than that, after cabbies pay $1.50 per withdrawal to get their own money!! http: //www .boston .com/business/articles/2010/07/02/taxi_owners_sue_city_over_credit_card_machine_rules/
We note that 6% of gross, after daily lease paid, is 15% of what driver puts in pocket, plus a forced debit card account float of 3-5 days, where the driver cannot make any deposit to the account, nor go the bank & withdraw any of his credit card revenue [whatever is left], driver must use ATM at $1.50 per withdrawal. What is a real surprise is that Marc Estrich the BTOA lawyer has not questioned advertising forced into 1,211 owner or full-time lease medallion operated taxis where owner or leaser owns the vehicle, where a livelihood is taken out of the cab. Mr. Estrich also didn’t mention the COST out of the driver’s pocket which is the reality after the daily lease cost is subtracted. THIS LAWSUIT on the face of it DOES NOT TOUCH THE ADVERTISING, GPS, AND ABNORMAL SURVEILLANCE.
To Dershowitz cabbie. True, the lawsuit as described in the media articles does not go to the core, removal of that which was illegally forced. However, perhaps more is in the offing, two news descriptions said the lawsuit also claimed leasers & private owners were not allowed to negotiate any contract before installation. Another write-up said the lawsuit demands approval of more vendors for the systems, only two had been approved at the deadline [surprise! Greenie & Shermie machine]. Yes, seeks better conditions but doesn’t go to the core: forced acceptance, WITH more: ADVERTISING, COMPUTER DISPATCH, CAB CONTROL, installed. Unfortunately, the transition from optional to mandated acceptance of cards was placed upon the unlikely head of the cabbie businessman whose job is least adaptable to it. The businessman must TRUST and be deceived, must lose TIME, must lose pay, must do bookwork, must lose 20% after lease is paid, and this cabbie is a TIME and distance biller, by law. It should have been left as it was with 900 cabs able at the driver’s option to electronically process cards, while about 600 had the hand-held telephone approval sliders. This was all about advertising, money, control, and greed. You are right about that. Hope Marc H. Estrich, Esq., wises up. Boston only has 1800 cabs, and a very small operations area.
There are some interesting closing dates in this article however I don’t know if I see all of them heart to heart. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we wish extra! Added to FeedBurner as properly
Looks like someone commenting may be on something and needs a random. However, looking over this MTA 50 cent tax notice article, and that two meter companies (meaning 2 out of 3: Verifone, CMT, and DDS — we guess the first 2) started the tax a week earlier than supposed to and all customers got overcharged by 50 cents! Ha ha ha ha At 1 million rides a day (or 800,000 if you think that) the Verifone & CMT then ripped off NYC riders $500,000 a day — stole 1/2 million dollars a day for every day (those few days said the article) they made the MISTAKE. Was that then $2 million these two stole from NYC cab riders? LOL ha ha ha ha This was played down as A OKAY I guess if you are a billionaire? And the article says riders on those days were given a phone number to call 311 and get their 50 cents back — LOL HA HA HA HA Any word on how much of the $2 million was returned to riders? Yassky said even 1 penny stolen is too much. HA HA HA HA HA TLC and Bloomberg — Confess, confess, confess how many cab riders got their check for 50 cents? LOL HA HA HA HA And if no cab riders got their 50 cents back, who has the $2 million dollars if it was 4 days’ worth? LOL HA HA HA HA If you are rich you can steal, but if you are a poor cabbie making a mistake, set that INJUSTICE system in motion. LOL HA ha ha ha
Look how TLC call their friends’ overcharging: “And although the fare hike was not supposed to take effect until this weekend, the Taxi and Limousine Commission says SOME cabs MISTAKENLY charged the extra fee on a couple of days last week.” Played down the possibly $2 million or maybe just $1 million overcharged — Not like when they went crazy publicizing those huge numbers all over the NY Post front page that were in reality a hundredth of one percent of cab drivers overcharged!!!! See how it says SOME CABS mistakenly charged — it wasn’t the cabs it was the billionaire card-swipe advertisers who did it. The cab’s meters only did what TOLD TO DO by these billionaires who took control of the meters and did it. We’d like to see some TRUTH in the cab business. LOL
Oooips, I notice only 288 meters (TLC says only 2% of cabs affected) overcharged about $4,000. Someone at the TLC does know math!! Just not when it helps the cabbies — but to help the meter companies TLC knows the math, and claims it is limited.
But, says Yassky, even if it is only 1 penny. We wait for front page headline to say — Cab Rider Overcharged 1 Penny — NY Post.
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