Jim Mason
Columns
November 20, 2008 12:10 AM
Jim Mason
So, how much do you think it costs to take a cab round-trip from one side of Stouffville to the other?
Say the Stouffville Country Market to Canadian Tire and back.
Brace yourself.
And pull out $27.20, plus tip, as you exit the back seat.
And no, you’re not buying the cab with that payment, either.
We know the pain. Our son did the trip this autumn from his part-time job.
Paying the fare puts a big dent in a kid’s minimum-wage cheque and makes walking in the fall rain or snow more appetizing.
You can buy a lot of hot chocolate and warm gloves with $27.20.
It sure can’t be a joy ride for folks on fixed incomes, including seniors and single parents, who have to call a cab.
But, don’t blame your driver or the cab company. They’re just working with rates legislated by the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville.
Even some town officials were surprised by the actual cost of a cross-village taxi trip using their rates. (And there are higher per-kilometre rates elsewhere in York Region.)
Join the club of the duly shocked. I think it cost us $65 for a limo to Pearson International from Stouffville early this year.
GO and YRT offer lower-cost alternatives, providing your schedule matches up with the bus schedule.
And qualifying Stouffville seniors can get rides for a lot less. As in a $6 round trip to Markville Shopping Centre in Markham.
It’s all important, if we are to become more European, with fewer cars in our driveways and a greater dependence on public transit in our heads.
But, old habits are hard to break. And with gasoline under 80 cents per litre yesterday, we’ve got a bargain.
Not so for our taxi rates, Whitchurch-Stouffville.
Jim Mason is editor of The Sun-Tribune.