Calgary's cab fares set to rise

Hailing a cab in Calgary will be more expensive this summer after a city council approved a 12 per cent fare boost Monday morning.

The hike, the first increase in cab fares in roughly three years, wasproposed by Ald. Ray Jones to help taxi drivers cope with the soaring costs of fuel.

"These guys are taking the money out of their pockets. They're the ones that are filling the cars, and they're the ones that are absorbing the costs and taking the brunt of this," Jones told CBC News. "So, I feel that it's only right that we give them the increase."

The 12 per cent increase will equate roughly to $2.50 on a $20 trip.

Bob Hall, who owns his own cab and drives for Associated Cabs Ltd., said he welcomed the move.

"I hope it'll give me more take-home pay," he said. "Also, I should be able to maintain my car properly and buy a new one when the time comes."

Len Bellingham, the chair of the Calgary Livery Associationand the president of Mayfair Taxi, called the increase a "step in the right direction."

"If they're driving a Crown Vic, I understand they're [paying] $20 to $30 aday more in fuel than they were back a couple years ago. So that's a big increase, and that comes right out of their pockets," he said. "This increase will replace some of that, not all of it. "

The interimincrease will come into effect when the bylaw is revised on June 9.

A newly appointed taxi committee is set to make a formal recommendation on a permanent rate-increase structure in October.