Starting today, taxi riders will begin to see a 17 percent increase on their cab fares — and many passengers are already vowing to make more use of their MetroCards while some drivers worry they’ll lose business with the higher rates.
Under the new fares, passengers will be charged 50 cents for each fifth of a mile and every minute cabs are stuck in traffic — up from the current 40 cents for each.
The average fare will rise from nearly $10 to almost $12. Rides from Kennedy Airport also will increase, from $45 to $52.
The new fare schedule, approved by the Taxi and Limousine Commission in July, will begin to be implemented today — but cabbies could take until the end of September to adjust their meters.
The new fares will grant cabbies their first raise since 2006. Hacks now stand to make an average of $160 for a 12-hour shift, up from the current $130, according to the TLC.
“More money’s always good!” beamed driver Azid Riaz, 33.
Cabbies also will have 6 cents from each fare funneled into a health-insurance account. And they will now chip in a flat $10 per shift for credit-card transactions, instead of paying 5 percent.
But driver Frank Okoli, 44, is concerned that the cost of leasing cabs will go up as a result of the new fares — and that his supposed pay raise will “not amount to anything.”
“As soon as the rates goes up…the companies increase their rates,” said Okoli, who has driven a cab for the past 11 years. “It’s a game that you can never win. You get a raise and the [parking] tickets get higher.
“For most of the cab drivers, it doesn’t make no difference,” he added. “Let’s see how it works.”
Some passengers have already begun to rip the new fare schedule.
“That’s a lot!” said Brie Zabierek, 20, a student at Parsons The New School for Design, who often takes yellow cabs more than once a day. “Honestly, it’s already so much money. It’ll make me think twice about taking a cab.”
New yellow-taxi fares go into effect today:
Fortrips in the city
* Average farerising from $9.91 to $11.97
* Price for each fifth of a mile going from 40 to 50 cents
* Surcharge for every minute in stopped or slow traffic increases from 40 to 50 cents
Trips between Kennedy Airport and Manhattan
* Flat rate increasesfrom $45 to $52, plus tolls and tip
Trips to Newark Airport
* Automaticfee rising from $15 to $17.50 on top of regular charges from Manhattan, plus tolls and tip