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Riding in a taxicab could cost you more in Hampton than it used to.
The city council voted last week to approve changes to the city’s taxicab ordinance including a provision that will allow cab companies to raise their pickup fee from $2.75 to $5 and increase their rate from $2.10 per mile to $2.45.
The city had not raised its fare rates since 2012. Under Virginia law, the governing bodies in cities, towns and counties can regulate the rates for vehicles that carry passengers on roadways in the municipality.
The council decided to update the ordinance to help the cab companies, which have faced rising gas and part prices and competition from rideshare companies.
“Instead of dictating that it has to be $5, [the ordinance] would allow flexibility so if they want to charge a lower rate — $3 or $4 — they can do that,” said Brandi Law, deputy city attorney.
The changes will allow companies to charge more per mile than the current rates in Newport News, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth. Norfolk is the only one of those cities that allows a higher pickup fee — $6.
The council also amended the ordinance to allow taxicab companies to negotiate contracts with organizations and businesses with an agreed-upon fare. Norfolk, Chesapeake and Suffolk also have this provision, and Newport News is considering it.
Other changes to the taxicab regulations in Hampton include increasing the maximum age of the cabs from 7 to 10 model years old, which puts the city in line with Newport News. Virginia Beach, Suffolk and Chesapeake do not have any age restrictions. The city will no longer require all taxis belonging to the same company to have the same color scheme, but they will still need to have a prominent logo and a taxicab number.
Earlier this year, the Newport News City Council also considered changes to its taxicab ordinance. The council spent two of its informal work sessions hearing recommendations from the city’s taxicab advisory board about proposed updates including raising the pickup fee to $5 and increasing the maximum age of cabs from 10 model years to 15.
The city was also considering increasing the number of passengers allowed in a cab from five to six — as long as there are enough seatbelts for everyone.
Currently, the city code limits the number of cabs in Newport News to 240, but the city manager recommended that the taxi advisory board review the number of permits for cabs allowed in the city biannually and notify city council if the board thinks changes should be made.
Not all of the advisory board’s requests made it into the city manager’s recommended changes, but when it came time to vote at the April 12 meeting, the council members instead voted to defer. It is not immediately clear when the matter will be before the Newport News City Council again.
Jessica Nolte, 757-912-1675, jnolte@dailypress.com