Continued hearings
Police Captain Robert Chiccolo will continue the hearing tomorrow, after which written testimonies may be submitted for two weeks. Following this period, Chiccolo will make a recommendation to the police commissioner.
Published 2008-06-25 03:09
Taxi drivers demand meter rate increase
Boston taxi drivers gathered in Roxbury yesterday for a rally and public hearing to request a meter rate increase, a measure the drivers say is both long overdue and necessary as a result of skyrocketing gas prices.
“We, the drivers, are not making the money that they think we’re making,” said Pierre Duchemin, a driver and member of the Boston Taxi Driver’s Association. Increased gas prices have meant longer shifts and smaller salaries for drivers — some say they work up to 72 hours per week to bring home just $400.
During the hearing, which was moderated by Police Captain Robert Chiccolo, BTDA staff representative Donna Blythe-Shaw appealed to the Hackney Division of the Boston Police for a 15-cent bump in the meter rate. This would bring the rate from 30 cents to 45 cents for every 1/8 mile, and would represent the first increase in six years. It would also jump the initial rate of a cab ride from $2.25 to $2.75, making Boston cab fares among the most expensive in the nation.
“How would you react to six years without a wage increase?” Blythe-Shaw asked Chiccolo.
BDTA members also cited the high cost of renting medallions from their owners — $77 per 12-hour shift — and said they hope for meter rate hikes without additional rental costs.