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Chicago Cab Drivers Lobby for Fare Hike, Vomit Charge

by Jordan Yerman | September 24, 2009 at 10:57 am

162 views | 6 Recommendations | 2 comments

Chicago cab drivers are lobbying for a 22% fare hike, as well as a penalty charge for customers who vomit in a cab.

Besides the fare hike, the proposed charge increases include:

An extra fifty-cent surcharge fro beginning the cab ride
$1.50 credit-card convenience fee
$50 charge for cleaning a customer's vomit from the cab

I've taken to calling this last item the Yak Tax. I hope it catches on. The term, not the phenomenon. Indeed, drunk customers should have to clean the cabs themselves.
Thanks, anniecolbert, for alerting me to this story.

Lutfallah presented statistics that he said showed Chicago drivers make a lower wage than their counterparts in other major U.S. cities. “We are among the lowest paid in the country,” he said.
He spoke before the Transportation Committee, which took the matter under consideration. Representatives of the United Taxi Drivers Community Council also backed the increase.

However, the number of overall taxi rides are decreasing in Chicago, and fare hikes are not likely to increase them, if people are avoiding cab rides to save money.