Increasing Fuel Costs Hit Cabdrivers Hard

For cabdriver John Lily, the recent surge in gas prices has left him feeling empty--literally. The Santa Ana resident has had to skip dinner the last couple of weeks to cover his growing energy expenses.

“If gas prices continue to rise, I’ll have to find a part-time job at McDonald’s or Burger King,” said Lily, a 34-year-old Iranian immigrant and father of four. “The situation is terrible for a low-income person like me.”

Little more than an annoyance to most motorists, increasing fuel costs can create economic havoc for taxi drivers, who have to absorb costs, can’t raise rates and barely make enough to live on anyway.

Many are skipping meals, logging longer hours on the road and junking vacation plans. Officials also worry that some cabbies will resort to cheating customers to run up fares as gas costs increase.

The last couple of months have been especially hard on Southland cabbies. In California, the average price of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline has climbed more than 44 cents a gallon to $1.793 since the end of January, a 33% increase, according to federal energy officials, who predict that prices in the state will go higher this summer.

For Abdul Niazi, the price hikes have meant longer hours on the job and have forced him to cancel some outings with his wife and daughter.

The 28-year-old Garden Grove resident says he’s spending $25 more a week on gas--10% of his take-home pay. To get by on income of just $250 a week, he clips coupons and looks for bargains at out-of-the-way ethnic markets. He has no savings.

Now he’s working at least one more hour--nine hours a day without a break. And the family’s monthly trips to such attractions as the San Diego Zoo or Disneyland have been scrapped.

Driving a cab has never been easy or glamorous work. Cabbies must endure long hours and the risk of assault or robbery, earning an average of $18,500 a year in California, slightly higher than the federal poverty line for a family of four.

But for scores of immigrants with limited language skills, driving a taxi has long been the first pit stop on the road to the American dream. Many cabbies also are attracted by the profession’s flexible hours and the chance to be their own boss.

In a state that relies sparingly on the taxicab for transportation, there are about 30,000 cabbies, up about 5% in the last five years, said Lee Adler, executive director of the Taxicab Paratransit Assn. of California, a Sacramento trade group representing cab companies. About 5,000 cabbies with permits operate in Los Angeles and about 900 in Orange County.

Most cabdrivers lease their vehicles from taxi companies for several hundred dollars a week, keeping their fares. Cab companies generally are responsible for maintenance and insurance, and cabbies pay for fuel. They generally receive no medical, vacation or other benefits.

Cabbies also are at the mercy of public agencies when it comes to raising fares.

In Washington, cabdrivers will be allowed to tack on a 50-cent surcharge beginning April 15 because of rising gas prices.

But public officials generally are reluctant to boost fares.

In Los Angeles, fares last increased in 1986. Although the city’s Board of Taxicab Commissioners approved an 11% fare hike in November, the City Council has yet to act on the measure.

That worries Tom Drischler, the city’s taxicab administrator. If gas prices continue to skyrocket without a rate adjustment, service could suffer, he said.

“When drivers are under financial pressure, they are tempted to cut corners by taking longer routes or turning down low fares,” Drischler said.

In Orange County, rates have remained unchanged since they were set by a countywide agency in 1997. The Orange County Taxi Administration Program, created to set rates that previously were set by individual cities, has discussed a fare increase but took no action, said Jo-Ann Gabia, an office specialist with the agency.

To support himself and his 81-year-old mother, Ghulam Askarzadeh, 34, is now driving his cab 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week.

Even with such a brutal schedule, he takes home only about $1,500 a month after paying for fuel and $2,700 a month to lease his cab. He rents a one-bedroom apartment in Garden Grove for $750 a month and sends $300 every month to family members in his native Afghanistan.

The job’s stresses and strains are reflected in the deep circles under his eyes. But Askarzadeh perks up when reminiscing about the candy store he once owned in Queens, New York. He said he cleared $100 a day for eight hours of work, about double what he earns now.

“Although I love the sunshine in Orange County, I’ll move back to New York if things stay the same,” he said. “Life was easier there.”

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Gas Inflation

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline closed in on $1.80 a gallon this week in California, up 33 per cent in less than two months. Higher fuel costs are taking a bite out of taxicab drivers’ pocketbooks.

Mar. 29,’99: $1.46

Mar. 22,’00: $1.79

NOTE: High price for the month is charted. Figure is based on weekly statewide average for regular, self-serve gasoline.

Source: California Energy Commission