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Republican Governor Charlie Baker signed the nickel fee into law this month as part of a sweeping package of regulations for the industry.
Ride services are not enthusiastic about the fee. "I don't think we should be in the business of subsidizing potential competitors," said Kirill Evdakov, the chief executive of Fasten, a ride service that launched in Boston last year and also operates in Austin, Texas.
Some taxi owners wanted the law to go further, perhaps banning the start-up competitors unless they meet the requirements taxis do, such as regular vehicle inspection by the police.
"They've been breaking the laws that are on the books, that we've been following for many years," said Larry Meister, manager of the Boston area's Independent Taxi Operator's Association.
The law levies a 20-cent fee in all, with 5 cents for taxis, 10 cents going to cities and towns and the final 5 cents designated for a state transportation fund.
The fee may raise millions of dollars a year because Lyft and Uber alone have a combined 2.5 million rides per month in Massachusetts.
(Score: 2) by tftp on Tuesday August 23 2016, @04:05AM
This amounts to off the books, hidden, uncontrollable tax on all taxicab passengers, so that the society can provide transportation to those who are less fortunate.
It would be far more honest to (a) tax everyone to raise that money, (b) subsidize transportation needs of disabled people, and (c) report to the taxpayers all of the above, so that they can decide if they want this subsidy, and if yes - how much.
It makes no sense to let the taxicab company or a clerk in the city hall to be a tax collector and an issuer of benefits to some people, with no oversight.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Capt. Obvious on Tuesday August 23 2016, @04:52AM
It's not off the books. There's a taxi commission everywhere that sets the rates. They do that knowing the various costs. And it makes sense because it localizes the costs/revenues of the taxi service in a few line items. The USPS's profitable routes subsidize delivering the mail to farms. That's just how public enterprises are set up.
If someone really has a bee in their bonnet, they can petition their government to change the fares/requirements on the taxi service. I don't see why a complex issue should be phrased solely as a cost. Yes, it's not all spelled out in the way that you care about, and the way you may want to sell changing it. But the info is there, you could rewrite it. And I would prefer to hear two facts like "1 in 10 taxis can handle a disabled person" and "taxi's have a 5% profit on capital" than to combine them in a way that holds all other things constant, even if they aren't, just so you can say "every time you take a cab, 5% is subsidizing a disabled person, 2% subsidizing X...."