Kingston taxi companies push back on fare hike

Local Kingston taxi providers say they will not comply with a recently passed fare hike and say it is as undesirable for them as it is for customers.

At the Kingston Area Taxi Commission (KATC) meeting on March 23, a timetable was adopted for 40% fare increases in the city.

In a statement, KATC President Ben Dowser said the increase was primarily aimed at paying drivers more.

“It’s not just about a rate or tariff increase; it’s about reinvesting in the good people who operate or own taxis and help bring sustainability to the industry,” Dowser said.

“Since the start of the pandemic, the taxi industry has been an essential service. The operators and owners have worked to ensure they allow the citizens of Kingston and Loyalist Township to travel safely, we thank you all for that.

But a number of taxi drivers in the city reacted unfavorably to the news.

Victor Hill, a taxi driver from Amey, said if history is any indicator, this hike won’t help drivers.

Hill said when a similar hike was introduced in the 1990s, he saw an almost 60% drop in income.

He said most drivers want an increase of around 10% to offset the gas hike, and that increase will significantly reduce their customer base.

“People on fixed incomes and people who take us to work daily will no longer be able to take taxis,” Hill said.

“I can only assume they thought they were doing us a favour, thinking they knew more about the industry than those of us who work in it on a daily basis.”

With inflation and soaring petrol prices, drivers and taxi companies agree an increase is in order, the first since 2019, but generally supported lower increases.

modern taxi let customers know about the increase in March, encouraging them to give their opinion and indicating that they had voted in favor of a lower increase.

On Monday, as new fares were set to begin in Kingston, Amey’s Taxi issued an open letter opposing the fare increases.

Amey chairman and owner Mark Greenwood said in the statement that the increase not only abused customers, but would spell the end of the taxi industry.

“The 40% increase was created by the commission itself and the taxi industry fought against it, recognizing that it was giving this industry a suicide pill,” Greenwood’s statement said.

“We question the motives and misinterpretation of evidence they use to support this position.”

Greenwood says at the time that he himself signed an industry petition asking for a substantial raise, but that he and most of the other signatories thought it was a 20% raise.

He questioned the significance of the survey itself, which he said was a poll of less than 120 members of the public, and said there was “zero trust” between the commission and industry.

Hill added that the commission clearly lacked professional experience and needed to include someone with years of service in the industry.