By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Taxi cab users in Lewiston are in for a big increase in fares, councilors agreed Tuesday.

Fares will rise as much as $2.25 a ride in the city’s outermost zone and the rate drivers can charge for waiting doubled to $20 per hour.

The new fares take effect on Wednesday, March 1.

Next, Lewiston officials will work with Auburn and local transportation officials to come up with a policy and rate schedule for both cities.

“We decided to wait on that,” said City Administrator Jim Bennett. “Right now, we wanted to concentrate on coming up with a plan that’s fair to the drivers and lets them get back some of their costs.”

Both cities raised cab fares last September in response to rising gasoline costs. While Auburn raised rates 50 cents in all seven of its taxi zones, Lewiston enacted a forgotten gasoline fee that lets drivers charge an additional 10 cents per trip for every 20 cents gas prices increase.

Drivers and company owners complained Lewiston’s plan changed too often and confused customers.

The newest increase will boost fares the most on outer edges of the city. For example, fares will increase 75 cents per ride for trips beginning and ending in Zone 1, which includes most of the downtown.

Fares that begin or end in Zone 5, the zone that rings the outskirts of the city, saw the biggest increase, from $5.75 to $8.

“We put the smallest increase in the center of the city because people there are more likely to rely on taxis to get around,” Bennett said. “But if people are planning a night on the town and they’re crossing zones, they’ll pay a little bit more.”

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