Cabdrivers seek a fare increase

As dozens of cabdrivers came to police headquarters, complaining that high gas prices are eating up profits, Boston's chief taxi regulator yesterday indicated the city is prepared to grant a fare increase.

''The evidence of high gas prices is all around us," said Mark Cohen, head of the Boston Police Licensing Division, which regulates taxis. ''I think they have a pretty good case."

Dozens of Boston cabdrivers gathered at a special hearing to ask police licensing officials to consider raising fares, a move that Mayor Thomas M. Menino has said he would support. Cohen said he will recommend action to Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole, though he declined to specify the size or form of the increase he would recommend.

Proposals have included permanent or temporary rate increases or temporary fuel surcharges -- fees that would be tacked onto every fare. Many drivers yesterday said they would prefer a fare increase over a surcharge, which they said would unfairly affect small-fare customers. Some cabbies also said customers tend to react angrily to surcharges. Many drivers are asking for an increase of five cents for every eighth of a mile traveled, up from 30 cents.

Cohen said fare increases should benefit drivers who have to pay for gas, not the companies that own and lease cabs.

''There's a lot of money involved," Cohen said. ''We want to make sure that when we do rate relief, we're putting it in the pocket of the cabdriver and that it's an appropriate level."

Cohen said he plans to study cab meters in an attempt to establish how much drivers are spending on gas and how many miles they are driving a day.

''This is not a dartboard," Cohen said. ''This is running the numbers."

Harjeet Gill, who has been driving a cab in Boston for 10 years, said he is spending nearly twice as much on gas now than he did a year ago. He said that because cabs are on the road all day, it is necessary to fill them with expensive high-grade fuel. ''We are making a lot less," Gill said.

Some environmental activists attended the hearing and encouraged the taxi industry to replace its fleet with more fuel-efficient vehicles. ''Use less gas," said Jeremy Marin, who identified himself as the regional representative for the Sierra Club and suggested cab owners look at hybrid vehicles that use battery power to reduce gas consumption, especially in city driving. ''We're not talking about Fred Flintstone vehicles."

Suzanne Smalley can be reached at ssmalley@globe.com