Will they give the money back?

By Steve Poftak
January 5th, 2009

As I was walking to work this AM, a cab (thanks hackney license #385!) ran a red light, stopping only to berate me for walking in a crosswalk with a walk signal.

It got me to thinking about the fare increase of this summer. Back in August, in the throes of the gas crisis, the city of Boston raised rates after a series of complaints by cab drivers and their representatives. I advocated back then for a break in the artificial monopoly that supresses the number of cabs in the city (read the comments too).

As gas prices have dropped from $4+ in August to less then half that (at least where I live), the new, higher rates remain in place. Can we expect Mayor Tom Menino and Police Commissioner Ed Davis to lower them soon? Probably not.