Charlottetown city council is a step closer to passing a bylaw that will increase taxi fares by one dollar.

Council gave first and second reading to the bylaw on Monday night.

Coun. Danny Redmond, chair of police and bylaw enforcement, said the cab industry had asked for a higher fee in each of the zones to cope with rising gasoline prices.

"To me it wasn’t substantial. With the price of gas today — and it’s going up and up and up — we have to do our part I believe in trying to help this industry, too," he said.

The city’s taxis are not metered and the fare is based on a zone system. Riders pay a set price for travelling within a specific zone.

Redmond said he isn’t sure when the new rates will come into effect. The bylaw will be given third reading Wednesday night, so the new prices could be implemented later this week.

Redmond said the new rates will not apply to airport rides.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/06/10/charlottetown-taxis.html