Fairfax County supervisors unanimously agreed Sept. 10 to boost taxicab rates by about 15 percent.
Certificate holder Red Top Cab, which is owned and operated by Old Dominion Transportation Group Inc., petitioned the county Feb. 22 to:
• Increase the rate for the first one-sixth of a mile or fraction thereof from $3.50 to $4.
• Raise the rate for each subsequent one-sixth of a mile or fraction thereof from 36 cents to 40 cents.
• Hike the charge for waiting time from 36 cents for each 61 seconds to 40 cents for every 60 seconds.
The average price per trip will rise from $20.78 to $23.20. By comparison, the average trip costs $22.70 in Arlington, $25.80 in Alexandria, $24 in Prince William County, $18 in Montgomery County, Md., and $18.62 in the District of Columbia.
Following a May 21 public hearing, the Consumer Protection Commission recommended the Board of Supervisors adopt the new rates.
Supervisors on June 24 set a July 30 public hearing to discuss the matter, but had to defer that and several other hearings after county staff failed to comply with the state’s new legal-advertising requirements, which took effect July 1.
The newly approved taxi charges became effective immediately after adoption.
The last time supervisors approved a permanent change in taxi rates – a 7.7-percent increase – was in October 2014. Supervisors, however, did approve emergency fuel surcharges during two periods in 2022 and one in 2023 in recognition of higher costs being paid by taxicab operators. All those surcharges since have expired.
County officials said the Sept. 10 rate hikes were justifiable because the Fairfax County Taxicab Industry Price Index had increased by 34.5 percent in the last decade.
The county government calculates the index from five U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indices, including the Consumer Price Index-Urban, vehicle purchase price, and motor fuel, insurance and maintenance-and-repair costs.
If the county had based the new charges on the index results instead of the petitioner’s requested rates, the rate for the first one-sixth of a mile would have been $4.71, each subsequent one-sixth of a mile would have cost 48 cents and each 60 seconds of waiting time would have entailed a 48-cent charge.
The newly approved rates will support continued availability of on-demand taxi service in the county and provide relief to cab companies and their drivers, who are absorbing higher operating costs, officials said. The higher rates also might help with recruitment and retention of taxi drivers, they added.
Rob Whitfield of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance said he had used taxis often while living in a nursing home for the last year.
“People like me are very reliant on this kind of mobility,” he said.
While many taxi drivers are courteous and rides often are available within 15 minutes of calling during the day, drivers often head home at 5 p.m., making rides scarce at night, Whitfield said.
“It seems to me that for this kind of essential consumer service that there has to be some level of reliability upon which the public using the taxicab service can rely,” he said, adding, “I think we need to enhance the regulations of the service provided.”
Whitfield said he would be willing to pay higher taxi rates in the evening in exchange for more reliable service.
Kyle Summers, chief operating officer for Old Dominion Transportation Group, apologized to Whitfield for some of his recent difficulties in obtaining cabs and said the company had started an investigation.
“I completely agree with him,” Summers told the supervisors. “You should expect reliable transportation. You should expect a guaranteed ride whenever you order it. Any failure is unacceptable and we address it as we’re notified and as they happen.”
The pandemic threw the transportation industry for a loop and now taxicab firms and ride-share companies alike are having trouble finding drivers, especially after regular business hours, he said.
Summers supported the higher taxi rates and said those proceeds will go to the drivers, not the cab companies.
