Cab Drivers Pinched By Rising Gas Prices

The high price of gasoline has put a world of hurt on a lot of people. Personally, I think George W Bush's approval rating would be about 20 points higher if the national average price of gas was about $1.00 a gallon. Well, ten points higher anyway.

Now, another group of workers have been affected by the rising price of crude oil: cab drivers.

Recently, I spoke with a cab driver who was taking me home from my paying job. He ranted about the high price of gas and how it was cutting into his profits.

Most cab drivers are independent operators. The cab company pays for repairs on the cab (I'm sure there are limits) and the fare is split between the company and the driver. However, the driver gets to keep all the tips.

My cab driver (who I'll name Gus) told me one day he took in $200 in fares in 15 hours. Pretty good, huh? Now you can order a cheeseburger instead of a hamburger, right. Well, half went to the company and he got to keep $100. Still good. But, according to Gus, $60 went to gasoline. So for 15 hours of work, Gus got to keep $40.

That's $2.66 an hour. Even a Republican would say "Damn" to that. Of course, some of you will say, "Nobody told Gus to drive a cab." Don't worry. The rising price of gas will affect you also. I don't care if you're as rich as Bill Gates or as poor as a blogger.

LINK:
CHICAGO APPROVES NEW TAXI CAB SURCHARGE

VIDEO:
DARYL HALL SONG "CAB DRIVER"