Plan on calling a cab? That ride to cost a bit more

Cab fares are about to increase in Minneapolis, St. Paul and elsewhere as gas prices rise and the region prepares for an onslaught of GOP convention visitors.

By STEVE BRANDT, Star Tribune

Last update: July 16, 2008 - 11:16 PM

With gas prices shooting up and a massive convention coming to the Twin Cities, local cab fares are heading up.

St. Paul has already approved a fare increase, and Minneapolis is poised to follow. Minneapolis might also tack on a $1 per rider surcharge during the Republican National Convention. Other cities are considering similar increases.

The increase will keep the $2.50 flag-drop charge but boost the charge for each additional mile from $1.90 to $2.20, a 16 percent increase. The waiting charge rises from 35 cents per minute to 40 cents.

"We needed it yesterday," Steve Pint, head of Taxi Services Inc., told a Minneapolis City Council committee Wednesday. That firm operates three cab companies.

St. Paul passed the fare increase unanimously last week. There appears to be broad support for it on the Minneapolis council's Public Safety and Regulatory Services Committee. The committee delayed action for two weeks because it wants regulatory staff to devise a mechanism for swifter increases when costs rise.

Both cities have a $5 minimum fare. The new rates would push up the cost of a two-mile trip from $5.92 to $6.46 and the cost of a five-mile trip from $11.62 to $13.06.

Drivers who lease cabs are feeling a pinch, their earnings squeezed after paying their weekly lease and gasoline bills, Pint said.

One leasing driver, Ron Wood of Minneapolis, said the cost of fueling his cab has jumped from $20 to $25 five years ago to $60 to $65 now.

"If you don't make any money, you still buy the gas. That's the way it is. That's the way it's always been," Wood said.

Council Member Gary Schiff proposed the $1 per passenger surcharge for Sept. 1-6, when the convention will bring tens of thousands of visitors.

He said it's not an attempt to gouge visitors but rather offers drivers a chance to recoup costs while cashing in on convention business the way hotels and other convention-oriented businesses are able to do. He delayed the proposal until the committee takes up the fare hike on July 30.

The last increase came in 2005, when the mileage charge rose from $1.60 to $1.90.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438

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