Taxicabs San Francisco

San Francisco and London Fares 2003

The chart below shows the relationship between San Francisco and London taxicab fares over a distance of 0-24 miles. The red and blue lines representing the fares slope upward to the right as distance increases.

Of particular interest is the way that long trips are charged. In San Francisco, 15 miles is the magic number for long trip rates to apply. In London, the magic number is six miles, reflecting a transportation policy that seeks to keep taxis in the central business district where they are most needed, and penalizing riders who take cabs too far out of the central business district.

The steep jump in SF fares at 15 miles reflects the meter-and-a-half feature of SF rates of fare. Not only does the fare jump at that point, but the slope of the line increases as well, indicating that the rate has increased, i.e. to 150% of the base rate. Meter-and-a-half is explained in greater detail in the rate description at the end of this article. In brief, it is an off-meter surcharge that applies on some trips over 15 miles.

London taxi fares are currently higher than San Francisco fares at all distances. Note the change of slope in the fare line at six miles, indicating that a higher rate of fare applies beyond that distance. The fare line shown here is approximate, and assumes an exchange rate of $1.65 per British Pound.

The increase in London rates of fares at six miles actually occurs at a fixed amount of fare, not at a fixed distance. The specific fare triggering the higher rate is the amount that would be charged for six miles if there is no waiting time charge.

This example assumes that there is no waiting time, so the change in slope occurs at exactly six miles. If any traffic delay time applied, the effect would be to reach the specified fare at a shorter distance than six miles, i.e. the increased rate would apply beyond, say 5-1/2 miles instead of six miles. The effect in the chart would be to shift the bend in the fare line further to the left as waiting time increases.

The increase in London rates that occurs at six miles is automatically displayed on the meter, i.e. it is not a surcharge but is integrated into the rates of fare.

Below is an example chart showing how San Francisco rates of fare might look if a London-style method were adopted for long trip charges instead of the current meter-and-a-half surcharge. This example assumes a "magic number" of 12 miles. Two differences are that long trip charges are incorportated into the metered fare, and there is no abrupt sticker-shock at 15 miles.

In this example, the rates of fare are the same as the current San Francisco rates except that beyond 12 miles (or more precisely, beyond a fare of $29.40), the rate increases to $0.45 per additional 1/10 mile or 30 seconds of waiting time.

Current London rates of fare can be found at the website of the Public Carriage Office. The example chart shown in this article reflects London weekday rates. Higher rates of fare apply at night and on weekends.

San Francisco rates of fare in 2003 are as follows:

$2.85 for the first fifth of a mile or 60 seconds of waiting or traffic delay time, plus...

$0.45 for each additional fifth of a mile or 60 seconds of waiting or traffic delay time (or fraction thereof).

The speed below which traffic delay charges apply instead of distance charges is currently 12 mph. (In London, the threshold speed for traffic delay charges is currently about 10.4 mph.)

For out-of-town trips exceeding 15 miles beyond City limits, the fare is 150 percent of the metered rate; for trips exceeding 15 miles from San Francisco International Airport and not terminating within the City limits of San Francisco, the fare is 150 percent of the metered rate except that for those trips from San Francisco International Airport traversing through San Francisco going to Marin County or to the East Bay the 15-mile limit will apply from the City limits of San Francisco.

For taxicab trips originating at San Francisco International Airport that incur an airport trip fee, the taxicab driver may collect $2.00 of that trip fee from the passenger upon receipt of cab fare from the passenger.

To read a brief article on rates of fare and a spreadsheet tool for planning rate increases, see Visualizing Taxicab Rates of Fare.

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