Saskatoon city council unanimously approves taxi fare hike

Cab fares will be going up in Saskatoon, after city council unanimously agreed to recommend the increase at its regular council meeting Monday afternoon (Aug. 31).

There was no debate, nor were there any questions from councillors on the matter.

During the city’s last standing policy committee on transportation meeting, Mark Wilson, licensing and permitting manager, said in order to make sure that fares remain in line with the cost of operating a taxi, administration undertakes an annual taxi cost index review.

The new fares, which will go into effect October 5, take into consideration license costs, insurance fees, vehicle maintenance and fuel.

The findings of the review were then presented to local stakeholders. They then requested an increase to the metre fare rate. The changes to bylaws include the following:

1) Reducing the distance covered by the minimum base fee of $3.75 (referred to as the drop rate) from 130 to 125 metres.

2) Increasing the distance rate from $0.25 per 130 metres to $0.27 per 125 metres.

Wilson said the increases were not out of line with other cities.

“Applying the taxi cost index increase amount to a five-kilometre trip is consistent with the approach taken in 2016 when taxi fares were last increased.”

For a five-kilometre trip, the cost would go from the current $13.75 to $14.28, a 7.8 per cent hike. According to the city’s municipal scan of cab fares across the country, it would put Saskatoon behind Lethbridge, Alberta and Kelowna, B.C. as the third-highest fare in the country for a comparable trip, not including any wait time rates.