The largest union representing city taxi drivers is calling on the Taxi and Limousine Commission to add a new morning rush-hour surcharge and to increase the overnight surcharge that has remained level for nearly two decades.
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents approximately 15,000 drivers, called for the charges Tuesday while supporting the TLC’s proposed 17-percent general fare increase.
In a statement on the union’s website, Executive Director Bhairavi Desai called for doubling the night surcharge, “which has remained the same for 17 long years,” from 50 cents to $1, and to institute a $1 surcharge between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m.
“This proposal will give thousands of working families a fighting chance at survival,” Desai said.
Union officials want the TLC to add the surcharges to a package of fare increases that would eliminate charges to drivers for credit-card users and would add a six-cent per-ride surcharge that would go toward a new driver’s healthcare and disability fund.
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