Taxi Cab Protestations
April 23rd, 2009
Assemblymember Peter M. Rivera and Councilman John Liu will gather with taxi drivers on the steps of City Hall at 1 p.m. tomorrow to protest the State Senate’s proposed $1 per ride fee to be assessed on all taxi cabs in the 12-county region served by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The fee is part of the Senate’s new MTA rescue plan.
The group is proposing a temporary tax on jet fuel sold in New York to replace the taxi cab fee in the Senate’s MTA rescue plan. The taxi fee would raise revenue to fund the MTA and the maintenance of roads in upstate New York.
Guillermo Martinez, a spokesman for Rivera, said his suggested $2 per gallon fee on jet fuel “is a serious proposal that has the potential to bring significant revenue.” Martinez estimated that a fee of that size could lead to an increase of airline tickets of about $9.50 per ticket. Martinez said that Rivera is concerned that taxi drivers will see their tips reduced if the $1 fee is implemented.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg voiced his opposition to the taxi fee earlier today.”Im a little bit bothered by a proposal that would put a taxi fare surcharge on here in the city to build roads upstate,” Bloomberg told reporters. “New York City already sends more money to Albany than we get back, we are fundamentally the economic engine of the state and we subsidize it.”
By David King on April 23, 2009, 4:27 pmIn category: Albany, Eye on Albany, Transportation | 2 Comments »

April 23rd, 2009 at 10:18 pm
New york city taxi drivers shouldn’t be held responsible for paying for the MTA rescue plan, No one will benefit from this, nor the drivers that their revenue will be cut, nor the riders which they have to pay more. Any approval of this plan will leave drivers suffering more to earn a respectful daily salary. which you good luck NYC drivers: http://www.nycitycab.com
April 24th, 2009 at 8:45 am
“Guillermo Martinez, a spokesman for Rivera, said his suggested $2 per gallon fee on jet fuel is a serious proposal that has the potential to bring significant revenue.
I guess I can’t blame a couple of local pols for not knowing this, but taxes on jet fuel are banned by international aviation treaties. It’s become an issue because Europe wants to tax jet fuel to discourage air travel, which causes a lot of carbon dioxide emissions.
So it isn’t a “serious proposal.” It’s another something for nothing canard. Mights as well propose that Alan Hevesi be forgiven for his sins, if only he would tell us where the MTA is hiding the “hidden billions” he said were there.