Taxi fares headed higher for trips of seven kilometers or more

Cuenca’s transportation commission has agreed to a taxi fare increase for trips of seven kilometers or more. The decision was based on a 2006 resolution passed by the municipal council.

The new fares add seven cents per kilometer for trips of more than seven kilometers.

Fares will increase from from 29 cents to 36 cents per kilometer during the day and from 39 cents to 46 cents at night for trips above seven kilometers. Fares for shorter distances will remain the same, $1.39 daytime and $1.67 nighttime.

Beginning on Monday, taxi drivers will begin adjusting their meters to reflect the new fares.

The director of the city transportation commission, Alfredo Aguilar, said the new fare is not really a change in the fare structure. “We are simply bringing them into compliance with the law,” Aguilar said. “When the new fare schedule was adopted last year, we neglected to include the fare adjustment from 2006 law.”

Some members of the municipal council are protesting the increase, contending that the council should reconsider the 2006 resolution before it goes into effect. “We need to discuss this to see if the studies that set the new rates considered this resolution,” said councilman Marco Avila. “If it was factored into the new schedule there should be no fare adjustment.”