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I read on the Internet and immediately thought, it would be nice if in our situation the saying about sticking to bad examples does not come true: public transportation has officially become more expensive in Chicago. From October 21, drivers were allowed to charge an additional fee for fuel due to the sharp increase in gasoline prices. The change will also affect passengers who use taxis to travel to OHare International Airport and Midway International Airport. The supplement ranges from $1 to $3 and depends on the cost of the trip. The higher the amount on the taxi, the more the passenger will have to pay above the normal rate.

The municipality's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) established the following rules:

For travel costs up to $20 inclusive - $1 extra.

For prices between $20.01 and $40, there is an additional $2.

For prices of $40.01 and above - $3 extra. The levy is calculated based on mass calls before calculating taxes, fees and other payments. The reason was gas prices, which in Chicago reached about $5.06 per liter, according to the AAA automobile association. City rules allow for a fuel levy to be implemented when the current and average monthly price of gasoline exceeds $5 per gallon.

In this way, the authorities try to compensate taxi drivers for increased fuel costs without changing the basic transport rates. The measure is temporary and is valid subject to the established price conditions. A similar levy has already been introduced in Chicago this summer, from June 1 to June 23, 2026.

For passengers, this means that the final cost of the trip may be higher than what they are used to seeing on a taxi. For example, a trip costing $45 will now cost a minimum of $48, not including other additional fees.