As if D.C. weren’t expensive enough, yesterday the Taxi Cab Commission approved fare increases for cabs in the District of Columbia. For those of you who hop in the occasional cab up to Mason Inn, catch one back from the bars, or to get anywhere in the city, you may want to rethink this in the future.

The new fare increases really only affect the per-mile charge, raising it from $1.50 to $2.16, as well as raising per-hour wait times, but it doesn’t sound like its going to make the service any better.

Interestingly enough, the fare increases also come with the removal of several surcharges, including the fuel surcharge for high gas prices and my personal least favorite, the charge for additional passengers.

The fare increases also have raised a lot of questions about improvements to the cabs as well as the cab system in D.C. Hopefully this means that they can also allow credit cards to be used in all cabs in the city. With that said, even with the reduction of the surcharges, it sounds like shorter trips, especially in D.C. traffic, are going to be more expensive.

Maybe D.C.’s future light rail system will offer some relief (or maybe they can offer discounts for frequent riders, or those that are the most entertaining?).

Photo: inthecapital.com