Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to show May 19 is a Thursday, not a Monday.
CORNWALL – The price of hailing a cab in the City of Cornwall will be going up in a couple of weeks.
The Cornwall Police Services Board conditionally approved the increase this morning to take effect Thursday, May 19.
The taxi start rate will increase from $3.50 to $4. The per kilometer rate will go from 17.5 cents for a tenth of a kilometer to 19 cents. The waiting rate (when the cab makes stops such as at the pharmacy or at stop lights) goes from $32.30 per hour to $36.
All the increases constitute an 11 per cent increase overall.
The fees haven’t been touched since July 2013. Since that time, the city said the compounded cost of living (CPI) has increased 15 per cent over the last nine years.
Even with the increase, Cornwall Police Staff Sgt. Robert Archambault, who oversees the taxi file, said the industry is still “behind economically” but the new rates requested by two city cab companies are in line with comparable cities in Ontario.
The increases are conditional on city council approving the change to the bylaw next Monday, which is largely a formality.
Rate hikes are normally done in October. A rate review or increase wouldn’t happen again until October 2023 but the onus is on the cab companies to ask for it to be reviewed.