NYC taxi fares to increase by 23% by end of the year
Photo by Taton Moïse on Unsplash
The cost of an average metered New York City taxi ride will increase by nearly 23 percent by the end of the year. The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) voted this week to approve fare hikes for yellow cabs, the first increase in roughly a decade. The average passenger metered fare will increase from $15.97 to $19.62 per ride, which will lead to drivers seeing a 33 percent jump in gross revenue, according to the TLC.
Chart courtesy of the TLC
Under the approved changes, the base fare for metered rides will increase from $2.50 to $3.00. Surcharges for rush hour trips will increase from $1 to $2.50 and for overnight trips from $0.50 to $1.
For rides to and from John F. Kennedy Airport in Manhattan, the flat fare will increase from $52 to $70. A $5 surcharge will be added to all trips to and from LaGuardia Airport, with the surcharge for trips to Newark Airport increasing from $17.50 to $20.
Uber and Lyft rates will increase by over 7 percent per minute and 23.93 percent per mile. For example, a trip of 30 minutes and 7.5 miles would cost $27.15, up $2.50 from current rates, according to the commission.
First introduced this September, the new fares will take effect by the end of the year.
The fare hikes come as taxi drivers have struggled to make ends meet in recent years, exacerbated by both for-hire ride services like Uber and Lyft, the Covid-19 pandemic, and inflation. According to the TLC, the increase in wages for drivers will get more taxis on the road to better meet demand.
The New York Times reports the number of for-hire vehicles operating through ride-hailing on the road dwarfs that of yellow cabs. According to the latest TLC data, there was a daily average of 5,700 yellow cabs on the road citywide in July compared to 46,800 for-hire cars.
“Raising taxi fare rates and minimum pay for high-volume drivers is the right thing to do for our city,” TLC Commissioner David Do said in a statement to the Times. “These raises will help offset increased operating expenses and the cost of living for T.L.C.-licensed drivers.”
With the cost of a medallion jumping from $200,000 in 2002 to $1 million in 2014, many cab drivers face mountains of debt, without seeing a raise in 10 years.
This past September, the TLC approved a deal with the city’s largest taxi medallion lender to forgive over $200 million in debt. According to the Times, officials hope to strike similar deals with other lenders.
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