How Much Does a Cab Cost in New York City?

Kevin Drum

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In the New York Times today, Ginia Bellafante tells the story of her pre-Christmas trip to LaGuardia airport:

“So, how much do you think the Lyft cost?’’ my husband asked as we checked in. He was looking at his phone with a sour expression. “Eighty?” I offered. In fact, the trip that typically ran about $35 had cost $192.

….Prices always climb when demand is very high, and demand is always high during the holidays. We expect this. Yet even by that standard, my experience has been startling — $50 to send a babysitter home to downtown Manhattan simply from the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge, late one night in mid-December. Friends and neighbors have shared similar stories of sticker shock.

I don’t live in New York City, so I’m curious: yellow cabs still exist, don’t they? How much is an ordinary metered cab likely to cost for a trip between Brooklyn and LaGuardia at rush hour? Surely nowhere near $192. What about a black car for a prearranged trip like this? Even that would be cheaper, wouldn’t it? Or is the problem that it’s impossible to get a cab in the outer boroughs during peak times?

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No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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