Cabbies furious over clean-energy edict
Chicago cabdrivers who’ve been waiting eight years for a fare increase are up in arms about a cleanenergy initiative they fear will take money out of their pockets.
Five cab stands serving Union Station and the Ogilvie Transportation Center are being exclusively reserved for cabs using compressed natural gas.
Roughly 71 percent — or 4,201 — of Chicago cabs are hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles, but only 340 of them run on natural gas. The cost of adapting a vehicle to natural gas is pegged at roughly $10,000, which is also the added cost of purchasing a new vehicle that runs on natural gas.
The city has two compressed natural gas stations.
By dedicating the five most lucrative downtown cab stands for compressed natural gas vehicles, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration is hoping to boost the number of those taxis and stations.
The six-month pilot program is not sitting well with cabdrivers struggling to meet rising expenses.
“There hasn’t been a fare increase and now they’re gonna be shooing us away from cab stands where you wait for money to come out in a matter of minutes,” said veteran cabdriver George Kasp, whose proposal for a 13.2 percent fare hike is awaiting a City Council hearing.
“They’re taking away the five prime spots in all of downtown,” Kasp said. “There are no comparable places this dependable. These stands are where I pick up passengers between 5 a.m. and noon. Now, they’re saying you can’t sit there unless you’re a compressed natural gas cab. This is crazy.”
Melissa Callahan, another Chicago cabbie, called the mayor’s clean energy edict “infuriating.”
“The majority of cabdrivers don’t have access to these cabs because they’re the most expensive cab you can possibly lease,” Callahan said.
Jennifer Lipford, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, stressed that non-CNG cabs will be free to use the stands if there are no compressed natural gas taxis available.
“We’re trying to promote the use of clean fuel, but it’s not meant to be punitive for other drivers. We’re not issuing violations. The only way enforcement would work is that other cabs may be asked to leave in favor of a CNG cab,” Lipford said.