Taxi Fares - Up 65% in the Past Year

[Zackdotcom]

Cabs are dead unless its 3am then you just have another drink and go home at 5:30am same cost!

 

[MizzMarr]

exactly how little do they make. Most cabbies that I've talked to seem to intimate that they have a comfortable middle class life.

This is the impression that I get. Every time I talk with a driver about his life he's got a casa quinta close to town...

 

[darmanad]

Despte the recent tariff increase taxi fares in BA are relatively cheap compared to other world cities. Significantly so. I don't begrudge cabbies the tariff increase and I think the great majority of drivers are honest, hardworking guys.

The last conversation I had with a BA taxista was 2 nights ago. The young man had a wife and 3 kids, aged 6,5,4. He owned a small home in the Provincia. When I inquired about how much he works and earns, he reponded that he worked 7 days a week about 13 hours each day. He cleared 8500 pesos/month. I think he was honest. Time will tell how much his take home pay will change because of the recent tariff hikes.

I am not sure why the entire taxi association has here been labeled mafia. I plead ignorance to the structure of the controlling taxicab association. I assume there is one that has some authority over taxi rates and other matters affecting licensed drivers. Like any other organized group, it is trying to maximize the beneifts of its constituency. If it thinks a tariff hike is warranted given the economic conditions and that such an increase will benefit taxistas then so be it. Raising meter tariffs, in and of itself, doesn't constitute illegal or mafia like conduct.

This is not to deny that there are some groups of taxis that do form a "mafia", that is, a bunch of drivers that join together to participate in structured patterns of illegal conduct. Go to the airport and cruise ship terminals and you will see an example of groups that muscle/bribe their way into gross violations of law with impunity, e.g., charging exhorbitant fixed prices and preventing honest drivers from competing by intimidation and force. And, of course, there is the counterfeit currency scam practiced by some cabbies to cheat tourists.

Within the controlling taxi organization and local governmental authorities it is likely there is also corruption. I was advised by a cabbie that the org that changes the meters for this last tariff hike charges 140 pesos and that it takes 10 minutes to change one. Cab owners have no other option. Multiply 140 pesos by the number of cabs on the street and you get a pretty big kitty that some cab official is no doubt exploiting. Moreover, someone is allowing the airport and cruise terminal mafias to flourish. I once tried to bring it to the attention of the local government - it is an absurdly arduous process geared to discourage complaints.

Nevertheless, in my years of experience the overwhelming majority of drivers on the street are honest, hardworking guys, many, if not, most of whom work at least 6 days a week and 10 or more hours per day to provide a more comfortable life for their families - just like the guy mentioned above. Earning the equivalent of $2100 per month for a grueling 90 hour work week is not something many expats would endure. As fares are still significantly cheap compared to other major world cities. I don't begrudge taxi drivers this tariff increase. It will ensure that the job pays enough to attract a lot of drivers and facilitate getting a cab when I need one.

 

[citygirl]

Sometimes I feel like I live in a different city than those that find it cheap. No, I don't find paying 16 pesos for a 10 minute cab ride inexpensive. I sure as hell don't find spending 35+ pesos to go from Canitas to Recoleta cheap.

And for those that live and earn in pesos, it's REALLY not cheap. How would you feel about paying 35 dollars to take a 15 minute cab ride? Because that's what if feels like for locals. The vast majority of people don't live on dollars or euros so comparing costs to those is misleading.

I KNOW what the costs of living are in major cities. I am from NYC. I lived in Paris. I travel regularly. Costs as a % of salary are higher here than NYC.

 

[jp]

How much do you think cabs should charge, bearing in mind the cost of buying a car, the cost of the petrol, the cost of maintenance, the cost of repairs, the cost of running the cab agency, GPS systems and the cost of paying the driver a living wage?

ETA: sorry, didn't mean that to sound aggressive. Its just that cabs are generally a luxury in most other cities. And cars cost a hell of a lot more money to buy, run and maintain here. Based on this alone, I'd expect cabs to be a lot more expensive than they are.

 

[KatharineAnn]

Taxis are very expensive considering wages here...and price increases make it very hard to use taxis, since wages unfortunately dont go up 65 percent per year, oh how I wish.

Also, if its true that taxi drivers take home 8400 pesos per month for a 90 hour work week...thats really good. That means in a normal work week that same person would take home 4200 pesos, which is a very decent wage for a job that does not require degrees or education. Basically, hes bringing home what an engineer just starting out would bring home. I cant imagine in the US that a cabby would ever make what even a starting enginner would make???

So...anyone know how to get into that business?

 

[sergio]

It's quite true that wages are very low in BA compared with cities like New York, so cab rates and prices of housing etc. are proportionately higher in real terms. The problem is that expats earning dollars, pounds or euros are living in an unreal world. Argentines earn pesos. $8,500 is a VERY high monthly income in Argentina. It may not be in the US but Argentina is not the US.

 

[citygirl]

How much do you think cabs should charge, bearing in mind the cost of buying a car, the cost of the petrol, the cost of maintenance, the cost of repairs, the cost of running the cab agency, GPS systems and the cost of paying the driver a living wage?

ETA: sorry, didn't mean that to sound aggressive. Its just that cabs are generally a luxury in most other cities. And cars cost a hell of a lot more money to buy, run and maintain here. Based on this alone, I'd expect cabs to be a lot more expensive than they are.

No worries, didn't think it was an aggressive question. They can charge whatever they want and they have every right to do it. I just won't use them, especially when the bondi or subte cost me between .90 and 1.25 to get anywhere in the city.

And a 65% increase is pretty outrageous in one year. I highly doubt their costs have increased 65% in one year. And since I doubt they were losing money for the past decade, that means their profit margin is increasing. A lot.

 

[esllou]

so it seems from the threads this week that the ultimate dream job would be:

Doorman, moonlighting as taxi driver!!!

 

[darmanad]

Yes, because peso wages/salaries are lower here, wage/salary earning employees, whether Arg or expat, pay a higher proportion of their income for cabs as well as for all other goods and services. For many of the expat working class life is tough if you are living here and earning pesos, no matter where you originally came from.
My perspective is as a retired US cit who is living on savings (dollars). As pointed out above, for those expats in my circumstances, cabs and food are still cheap. That is also true for visitors from many parts of the world, especially for neighboring Brasilians. Many of my family and friends from Rio are coming here for vacation. It's far cheaper than vacationing in Brasil.
p.s. Is the 65% figure accurate? Anectdotal evidence is not always a true reflection of the real price increases.