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Bloomberg Skeptical Of MTA Bailout's Taxi Surcharge
By
Jen Chung
Published May 16, 2009
Modified May 16, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 16, 2009
Modified May 16, 2009
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Add Mayor Bloomberg to the group of folks who doubt that the 50-cent taxi surcharge—part of the State Legislature's plan to bailout the MTA—will actually work. The surcharge, expected to raise $85 million/year, has drawn some critics who question whether the taxi owners will actually be able to collect the money and whether it will be enforced—of course the Legislature didn't consider the logistics of it all! The Mayor said yesterday, "I don't know how you're going to do that because you're going to depend on these people to pay. That's not likely." The Post points out this is not so different from his attitude in April, "They could charge $1 every time you take a shower. Who knows?. I don't know how they collect it." Taxi drivers says the surcharge will prompt passengers to tip less (some passengers confirm that much) while one passenger said, "They're raising all the prices and we don't know where it's going, who's taking it, and if it's actually improving anything." The TLC says it is speaking with the State Department of Finance this week to discuss the surcharge.
Tagged
mayor bloomberg
MTA bailout plan
taxi
taxi dropoff surcharge
taxi surcharge
tlc
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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