Chicago cabbies conflicted about fare hike intended to save 'dying' taxi industry

Chicago's beleaguered taxicab drivers have mixed feelings about the first taxi fare increase in a decade that aims to keep their struggling industry afloat.

The City Council agreed Wednesday to raise cab fares by 20% in an effort to help cabdrivers who are trying to compete with Uber and Lyft while facing soaring prices for gas, car maintenance, insurance and other necessities.

“Basically, it is going to help us and at the same time it is going to hurt us,” Fatai Bello, 39, said Thursday while waiting to pick up a rider outside Union Station. “It’s going to help us because there’s going to be more money for us.”

On the other hand, it might discourage customers from choosing a taxi over a ride-hailing service, Bello and other taxicab drivers said.

“We have a lot of competition,” Bello said. “So, if the customer looks at the cab [and] that the price is going to be more, they’ll look at their app, they check for the one that is lower and go with the one that is lower.”

In addition to the Curb mobile app, passengers can view various ride options on the Uber mobile app, including several types of Uber rides, transit options and taxis.

Bello said to level the playing field, the city should regulate ride-hail services like it does the taxicab industry. Cab drivers are required to obtain a public chauffeur license, complete training and pass background checks and vehicle inspections. Uber and Lyft drivers typically need only to pass a background check and hold a valid driver's license.

Manuel Martinez/WBEZ

For Graham Jones, who took a taxi to Ogilvie Transportation Center Thursday afternoon, his preferred mode of transportation was simply about the price.

“I’m just trying to find the cheapest option, generally, to get where I’m going,” Jones, 29, said.

The Ravenswood resident said he recently noticed the taxi option on the Uber app and that some have been cheaper than an Uber, which uses surge pricing during busy periods. But he also noticed that Uber has dropped some prices down to what cabs are charging.

“I just started using cabs again," Jones said. "If they end up being more expensive than Uber, I’ll just take the Uber."

“I’m glad that [the fare increase is] helping them,” he added. “I’d rather there be more competition in that kind of market to, in theory, keep the prices down, but prices are going up.”

Several cabdrivers who spoke with the Sun-Times said they could make up to $650 during an eight-hour a day more than a decade ago. Now, it could take up to 16 hours to make $250. Most of them aim for around $150 to $200 a day.

The value of their taxicab medallions have also plummeted. A medallion that once sold for as much as $400,000 is now valued at $5,000.

Mayor Brandon Johnson introduced the fare hike last fall.

Under the new fares, the cost of entering a cab, known as the “flag pull,” will stay at $3.25 for the first one-ninth of a mile but costs will increase in other ways.

Passengers will pay 31 cents for each additional one-ninth of a mile, up from 25 cents. Another 31 cents will be added to the fare for every 45 seconds instead of 20 cents for every 36 seconds.

Manuel Martinez/WBEZ

A $2.50 rush-hour fee for rides between 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and a $1 overnight fee for rides between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., also will be tacked on to the fare.

Shared rides for “a minimum of two passengers” also will rise — from $37 to $45 between Midway and O’Hare. The cost of cleaning a cab after an inebriated or unruly rider doubles, from $50 to $100.

Some cabdrivers said the increase comes too late to save the taxicab industry, which one driver, Alix Alexandre, called “a dying business.”

Alexandre, 73, who drives part-time, said a large chunk of his business relies on the city’s Taxi Access Program, or TAP, which allows ADA Paratransit-eligible passengers to use taxis at a reduced fare.

“Otherwise, on the street we’re not making any money,” Alexandre said. “On weekends, we make no money. I’ll go by the museums — it’s all Uber. if it wasn’t for the TAP program… I wouldn’t be making any money because I don’t have that strength to go spend one hour to the airport, wait for two hours and then another hour [going back]. Business is not like it used to be.”

Still, Bernard Adu Boahene, 59, of Lakeview who has been driving cabs for almost 20 years said the fare increase was long overdue.

“No matter where you are working,” Adu Boahene said, “if you get rich by 20% [more], I think you’d be happy, right? Me too.”