It is almost a month since NYC cabs are charging additional $0.50 surcharge in order to help MTA to overcome $5 billion deficit.

If we consider, there are 13,000 yellow cabs in NYC and every cab is making 60 trips per day, MTA is getting 3,90,000 per day from yellow cab industry, black car industry is not included in this calculation.

How did this surcharge affected a cab driver? Well! after a month, I'm in better position to tell as my November's tips had dropped down by almost 24%, most people tend to think this money is going to driver's pocket, which is false, as at the end of his or her shift, driver pays it to the garage or to the brokerage company from where he or she is leasing his/her car.

Drivers, who have Taxitronic meter installed on their cabs, like myself, are suffering more, because at the end of fare, meter does not adds up the fare price and additional surcharge, unlike pulsar meter which does show the total at destination, there are few passengers, who want to know about extra $0.50 fare hike, which is fine with me and many other drivers but there were couple of passengers, who actually paid me less than fare price and walked away, for first two I just let them go, when same thing happened third time I literary chase the passenger and demanded for the extras, he started arguing that when he was in the cab fare was $7.00, why am I adding up $1.50 to the fare price? he had paid me $8.00 thinking  $1.00 as tips, he ended paying me additional $1.00 and said "Thanks for stopping me for $0.50".

But why do a driver has to go through all this? Why the hell TLC price sticker says $3.00 initial fare, when it is not so on the cab meters? Why hadn't they printed a sticker which says clearly additional $0.50 for MTA, to some drivers like this one situation has gone to extent, where they are thinking to put explanatory note at back of the cab, which says $0.50 are for MTA, to avoid explaining every third passenger.

Labels: NYC, Personal, Taxi Business