NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) blared horns up Third Avenue Tuesday, demanding that MTA funding come from taxing the rich not the poor.
Cab drivers throughout the city are outraged over a congestion pricing surcharge that went into effect in early February, claiming it has resulted in a significant drop in revenue.
“Yellow cabs have lost revenue by 40 percent since 2015 and with this new surcharge, revenue will fall by another 30 percent,” said Bhairavi Desai the founder and executive director of the NYTWA.
The surcharge added an extra $2.50 to all taxi rides below 96th Street and an extra $2.75 to all Uber and other for-hire vehicles, with pooled rides going up by .75 cents.
Drivers protested the tax when it first went into effect and have renewed their calls now that both Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have proposed a 10-point plan to fund the financially burdened MTA, which includes congestion pricing.
It’s unclear how much the new congestion pricing proposal would further impact taxi drivers, eight of whom committed suicide last year due to the price of their medallions continuing to plummet.