Hurry Up And Wait

Consumers wonder whether the Taxi & Limousine Commission incentivizing sitting at red lights as a fare hike turns out to be more than expected:

Taxi riders saw red at every stop light yesterday as fare hikes up to 27 percent kicked in — after New Yorkers were promised they’d average only 11 percent.

Most of the increase came from boosts in the amount cabbies charge for time they’re at a dead stop or crawling.

When The Post put the new fare to the test, a ride from Penn Station to the Metropolitan Museum of Art came to $18.50. The 5-mile, 29-minute midday trip would have cost $3 less the day before — an increase of nearly 20 percent.

Passengers were hit even harder on trips closer to rush hour.

It took 66 minutes to make the 8.7-mile journey from Lincoln Center to Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn during the afternoon, including 37 minutes of waiting time. Under new fare rules, the cost spiked $7.30, or 26.8 percent, to $34.50.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission had said the increase would amount to only a buck for an average ride — or 11 percent.

. . .

Cabbies, on the other hand, saw green at every light.

The said the change amounts to about a $50-a-day raise.

“Wednesday I made $160,” Harpal Chalal said yesterday, his third day driving a cab.

“But today, I have already made that much, and I still have four hours left on my shift.”

Drivers have long complained that they lose big dollars in slow traffic and that the fare structure had a built-in incentive to be reckless and run red lights.

“It’s much safer,” driver Eduard Tamarov, 41, said. “They should have done it a long time ago.”

Taxi officials say drivers will now earn about $24 an hour, whether they are moving or sitting in slow traffic.