Cab rides will soon cost a little less here in the Coachella Valley

The cost for a cab ride will soon go down here in the Coachella Valley, according to the SunLine’ Transit Agency.

The agency’s Taxi Board approved a measure Thursday to decrease taxi surcharges by $0.45, down from $0.75

The surcharge is a fee collected to offset the cost of regulating taxicabs in the Coachella Valley.

The SunLine Regulatory Administration (SRA) receives three primary sources of fees to support its regulatory functions: taxi vehicle permit fee, taxi driver permit fee and the surcharge.

The three franchises: American Cab, Desert City Cab and Yellow Cab of the Desert collect the fee from passengers as a part of the taxicab fare and submit the collected fee to SRA on a monthly basis.

“I am very pleased to be able to pass on this fee reduction to our taxi passengers”, stated C. Mikel Oglesby, General Manager.

He continued with, “The surplus of revenues were realized through the streamlined business practices of SRA and the successful and growing ridership of the taxi industry. It is only appropriate to pass the savings back to our passengers.”

The reduced fare begins August 1, 2012.