Updated: Sun Jun. 01 2008 4:58:03 PM

ctvtoronto.ca

A cab ride in Toronto is going to get a little more pricey if the city approves a rate hike proposal this week. Rising fuel costs are being blamed.

The Toronto Taxicab Industry Association is proposing hiking up its initial pick-up rate to $4 instead of $3. The proposal to the city's Licensing and Standards Committee also asks that the per kilometre rate be raised to $0.25 per 155 meters instead of 170 meters.

Under the new price, a $10 cab ride would now cost $11.75.

If the proposal is approved, the price change is expected to take effect in late July or early August, said Louis M. Seta, president of the TTIA.

"It takes some time -- 5,000 cars need to have their meters changed and then taken to the city so that they can install a tamper-proof lock," he told CTV.ca Sunday.

The fare hike is a result of a dramatic increase in fuel costs. Cab drivers, who are usually responsible for maintaining their cars, simply can't afford to do so anymore, Seta said.

"It's unfortunate but since our last increase in 2005, fuel costs have increased by 28 per cent," he said.

Drivers have each been faced with an increase in operating costs of about $400 to $600 a year.

Seta said it's not only the cost of filling up the vehicle with gas that's setting drivers back. Car parts cost more as do oil changes, he said.

"I'm hoping this will be it for the next little while," he said about future increases. But he warned that if fuel costs continue to rise, the association may have to revisit the proposal next year.

Seta said the city is poised to support the proposal. Coun. Howard Moscoe, the chair of the Licensing and Standards Committee, has said rising fuel costs are a cause for concern to the taxi industry.