Meter’s Running Higher for Cabs

When L.A. talks taxi rates, neighboring cities listen.

Los Angeles kicked off the trend in cab fare increases last month when its 10.2% rate hike took effect. West Hollywood and Burbank followed suit, pushing up their rates to match.

Fares in Beverly Hills are set to rise in early January. Culver City and Torrance, responding to requests from cab companies, are considering raising their fares as well.

Cabdrivers and operators said the hikes were long overdue. Years can pass before new rates reflect increases in the cost of living and fuel and vehicle maintenance expenses, they said.

“We need to provide for drivers’ families,” said Nettabai Ahmed, president of the cab company Independent Taxi Owners Assn., which operates throughout Los Angeles County.

“Let’s say the guy puts in a 12-hour shift,” Ahmed said. “And if he makes, let’s say, $170, that’s a good day for the cabdriver. But he has to pay $70 for the lease of the cab and some money for gas. If you divide it up by hours, it’s less than minimum wage. That’s why the increase is necessary.”

Not surprisingly, affected passengers aren’t pleased.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Steve Anthony, 26, a GapKids retail manager in Century City. “I always used to say a $15 cab ride can get you from here to near-downtown L.A., and all of a sudden they raised their prices. It’s kind of frustrating.”

Blame the hikes on the taxi cost index, said Tom Drischler, Los Angeles’ taxicab administrator. Based largely on the consumer price index, the index also keeps track of expenses associated with operating a taxi, such as the price of gas and vehicle maintenance.

“We basically do what the index says,” Drischler said. He noted that the last increase took place in 2001 and said the cab administration tends to recommend increases when the index climbs about 10% since the last hike.

A new rate goes into effect after the board of taxicab commissioners and the City Council approve it.

The higher fares mean each of Los Angeles’ 2,200 licensed cabs now charge $2.20 to activate the meter, up from $2. With the price per mile also at $2.20, up 20 cents, a six-mile trip now costs $15.20, up from $13.80.

One piece of good news for passengers: Now that fuel prices have dropped, the city is eliminating a 50-cent surcharge it implemented in the fall after gas prices had skyrocketed.

A month after L.A.’s rates increased, Burbank’s rate hikes took effect.

“We float with Los Angeles’ rates,” said Terre Hirsch, who handles taxicab issues for Burbank. “We basically let them do all the legwork. Why should we go to the expense when other folks are doing it?”

Beverly Hills officials said Los Angeles’ clout in the taxi industry made it logical to match their neighbor’s rates. West Hollywood took its cue from L.A. and went the extra step of raising its flat rate to Los Angeles International Airport 40%, to $35 from $25.

But Los Angeles’ influence extends only so far. Orange County’s already-higher fares went up sooner -- a 6.9% hike in August -- and increases in Long Beach and Ontario went into effect in August and November.

Higher rates will help make up for slower days, said Herand Vartanian as he paced around the Beverly Hilton Hotel’s underground taxi stand.

“If I’m lucky, the next customer goes to the airport. If I’m not, the next customer takes a $5 ride,” Vartanian said. “And then I’m at the back of the line again.”

And amid L.A.’s car culture, passengers aren’t exactly jostling for the next cab. “Nobody take taxi here, you know?” said Tarsem Singh, 43, a cabdriver of nearly 10 years who was waiting for customers at the Westfield Century City shopping mall. “It’s L.A. Everyone has their own car.”

But for those who do take cabs, every little bit hurts.”It was extremely expensive,” said Jessica Smith, 18, referring to a cab ride she had just taken from Orange County to LAX. A star of MTV’s hit reality show “Laguna Beach,” Smith said she had hoped the meter would freeze. “I felt like it kept ticking and ticking,” she said. “Forty more cents, 40 more cents.”

Others said the increases are an annoyance they will bear. Take regular cab fare Artemio Carpio, 38, who had been out partying in West Hollywood on a recent Saturday night. Though he doesn’t like the price hike, he’s resigned to shelling out more cash for a safe ride home.

“I mean,” he shouted, straining to be heard over a thumping bass coming from a nearby club, “I’m not gonna drive or walk.”

LAX passenger Ray Chiamulera, 41, a Chicago bank officer, had a similar reaction. Striding recently to a taxi stand outside a United Airlines terminal, thick brown parka in hand, he got into a cab and headed for Downey.

The cost of the 25-minute trip: $52.30 -- nearly $5 more than the last time he made the trip. But Chiamulera said he still plans to take a taxi from the airport the next time he flies in.

“I mean, can I bargain with them?” he asked. “What choice do I have?”