New York cabbies struggle as fuel costs hack pay

By Rebekah Kebede

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tired of pumping his cash right back into his gas tank, New York City taxi driver Mohammed Kalair says he is considering quitting his job and going back to his native Pakistan.

Gasoline prices have doubled to more than $4 per gallon since he started driving a cab three years ago, making for some tough spending choices.

"I choose eating, not smoking," said Kalair, who gave up cigarettes in order to keep food on his table.

"If you don't have it, you can't spend it," he said, standing outside a garage in New York's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood as he waited to start his shift.

Nationwide, gasoline around $4 per gallon will cost taxi drivers 38 percent more per year -- $3,825 -- than it did in two years ago, according to the Taxi Limousine & Paratransit Association.

To help cabbies, 11 U.S. cities have allowed taxis to charge a temporary fuel surcharge averaging $1.50 per trip and more municipalities are holding rate increase hearings.

But there has been no such relief for cab drivers in Manhattan.

New York drivers have not seen a rate hike since 2006 when gasoline averaged $2.56 per gallon. But the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) says drivers still can make a living wage of $12 an hour despite high gas prices.