Chicago rideshare tax surcharge for pick-up, drop-off in congestion zone takes effect Tuesday
CHICAGO (WLS) — Some rideshare users will have to pay more starting Tuesday.
Starting Tuesday, if you get dropped off or picked up in a congestion zone, your ride will now cost more, thanks to a new city tax now in effect.
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“Why do we have to keep nickel and diming every little thing that comes out of Lyfts and Ubers?” Dan Jeftich said.
The fee is a ground transportation tax “congestion zone” surcharge. Now, for every ride in these designated Zones between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. – your ride will cost an additional $1.50 (up from $1.13).
For shared rides, where passengers pool together with other riders heading in the same direction, that will cost you an additional 60 cents.
“I would say it adds up if you’re one of the types of people who takes it a lot.” Alexa Baczaik said
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“It’s enough going on right now with prices with everything going up. And congestion, there’s always going to be congestion, so now you’re penalizing people riding, extra money? They make taxes for everything. It’s just a lot. It’s too much,” Marti Hudson said.
Where are these congestion zones you might ask?
For instance, Zone 1 covers a large part of downtown including The Loop, River North and West Loop, stretching from Pilsen to 31st St. Beach – and along the lake up to Andersonville.
Zone 2 runs from East 60th Street to South Cottage Grove and East Hyde Park Boulevard.
“Lyft and Uber drivers I think they’re going to feel a pinch with people probably opting to either do a cheaper alternative, which could be riding a bike or it could be maybe even purchasing your own car and maybe it’s cheaper to pay for monthly parking if that fits the bill.” Jeftich said.
Some riders ABC7 spoke with wonder if this will have a negative impact on rideshare drivers and if people stop using their services because of rising costs.
“Every year they keep increasing it, I think it’s going to be less and less people wanting to take those rides,” Jeftich said.
Chicago already had a downtown congestion charge on ride-hailing apps, but the new rate is an increase over last year and the boundaries of the congestion zone have been expanded.
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