Cabbies want fare increase

Iqaluit taxi drivers want to raise fares by $1.

Last month Craig Dunphy of Pai-Pa Taxi wrote council to request a fare increase from $5 to $6. Since then other taxi companies have written to council with similar requests. They’re requesting a meeting with council.

“We’re the only industry in town that needs to beg for a raise,” Dunphy said in an interview.

Fares last increased two years ago. Since then the cost of fuel has increased by 20 per cent, Dunphy said.

Freight costs for vehicle parts have also gone up, along with property taxes, water and garbage rates, power rates and other costs for housing.

“In general, the cost of living and doing business in Iqaluit has increased dramatically in the last two years. The prices of just about everything have increased with the exception of taxi fares. Drivers of these cabs are taking home less money now than they were five years ago,” Dunphy wrote to council.

“Add to this the number of taxis on the road… and the ever increasing traffic in Iqaluit. Something needs to be done now before we have any more violent episodes.”

Dunphy also wrote that increasing fares might encourage more Iqalummuit to drive cabs, “eliminating the need to import as many drivers as we currently do.”

As of last Monday, Dunphy said he had not received any response from council.