Taking An Uber Or Lyft? Prepare To Pay More Surcharges In The City
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's now more expensive to use Uber or Lyft in Chicago.
The city said a new surcharge is designed to help all of us, by cutting congestion in some of the busiest areas.
CBS 2's Jim Williams has the story from the Loop, where riders are paying the highest tax. Already, some folks are thinking twice about using the ride share services in Chicago.
"I want to cut back. I'm going to need to cut back. I probably should cut back," said Reva Minkoff, the founder and president of a digital marketing firm.
Now that the City of Chicago has slapped a steep surcharge on ride share services.
The biggest increase is in the heart of Chicago: roughly North Avenue to Roosevelt and Ashland to the Lake. If you're by yourself and begin and end a trip there from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m, you'll pay an extra $1.75. Shared rides increase 60 cents.
Minkoff lives on the North Side. Her office is downtown and she's done the math.
"I used to take 10 Ubers a month or so," Minkoff said. "It's $20.00 a month. That's $240 a year. It really starts to add up."
Before 6:00 a.m. and after 10:00 p.m. The hike downtown is $1.25. Shared rides 65 cents. The surcharge for wheelchair accessible trips drops from 62 to 55 cents.
The Lightfoot administration hopes the new surcharges generate 40 million dollars for the cash-strapped city. But the mayor also wants to ease traffic congestion downtown, and encourage commuters to take public transportation. It's early, but the new fees seem to be already having an impact.
The ride share drivers CBS 2 talked to would not go on camera but said they've had fewer passengers on Monday.
Reva Minkoff said she and her husband Derek are still planning to use ride share services for nights out, but she sees more of the CTA in her future.
For those commuters who plan to keep taking Uber or Lyft, the city is launching a campaign to encourage them to share rides.
