Yellow cab drivers want the legislature to suspend the city toll

Taxi drivers say they can’t afford a third fee. The latest fee for taxi drivers is $1.25 per ride when entering Manhattan south of 60th Street.

“Since COVID, our taxi fares have dropped by 50%,” said longtime driver Richard Chow. “So we’re at less than 50%. That’s a lot of money. So we can’t survive.”

Chow was one of dozens of taxi drivers who descended on Albany on Tuesday morning to demand that state lawmakers pass a bill to repeal a previous congestion charge that they say makes rides more expensive and deters customers – a fee that was put in place even as Uber and Lyft had decimated the industry.

“Since 2013, medallions have cost as much as $1.1 million, but during the pandemic they cost as little as $70,000,” Chow said.

The yellow stickers were like a license to own a yellow cab, and drivers borrowed money to buy what was once a gateway to the middle class. But when Uber and Lyft flooded the market, the stickers lost their value. Drivers found themselves underwater, leading to nine suicides, including Chow’s brother, Kenny.

“He jumped into the East River near Gracie Mansion in 2018,” Chow recalled.

Taxi fares are paid by passengers, but they are high. Below 96th Street, the meter currently starts at $7 before the taxi even starts moving.

The base fare for a taxi starts at $3 and is used to cover expenses such as taxi or driver’s license rental, or mortgages, fuel and insurance.

In 2009, lawmakers approved a 50-cent per-trip fee to help the MTA. In 2019, a $2.50 congestion fee was implemented for trips below 96th Street.

There is a $2.50 surcharge between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and a $1 fee between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. There is also a $1 fee for the Taxi Improvement Fund, which helps drivers convert to wheelchair-accessible taxis.

According to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, yellow cabs have brought in $1.2 billion for the MTA since 2009.

Senator John Liu says the $2.50 surcharge his bill would suspend would have no impact on the MTA, given declining ridership and the fact that 35 percent of taxis are in storage.

“The surcharge is not being collected anyway because no one is sitting in the yellow cabs,” said Liu. “That’s why we need to suspend it at least temporarily so that ridership can increase again. And so that we can really preserve this important part of life in New York City.”

Liu said the surcharge should be suspended until ridership reaches at least 80% of pre-COVID levels. Without the suspension, however, the base fare would start at over $10 during the evening rush hour.