The city is facing opposition from an airport advocacy group over a proposed hike in the taxi fare to Kennedy Airport.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission’s board will consider raising the $52 flat fare on Thursday by $4.50 between 4 and 8 p.m. so that drivers won’t miss out on the evening rush hour surcharge while waiting for a fare or traveling to JFK.
The Global Gateway Alliance, which advocates for the region’s airports and passengers, says the fare is already high, and that the increase won’t make it easier to get passengers at the airport.
“This proposed rule fails to address the taxi dispatch process at JFK that is driving much of the problem,” writes the group’s chairman Joe Sitt in a letter to the TLC.
“Plagued by inefficiencies, there are reports that drivers can spend up to three hours waiting in the holding lot before being called to a pickup area, time which goes uncompensated.”
The group wants current cab pickup lines to be redesigned, taxis to be dispatched more efficiently with mobile technology, and taxi stand countdown clocks installed at all terminals.
“We are always grateful for thoughtful stakeholder feedback and are in the process of reviewing the letter’s recommendations,” said TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg yesterday.
Taxis took almost 2,000 fares every weekday in 2014 to JFK between 4 and 8 p.m. in 2014, the agency says.
