Local taxi driver: "We can't survive - we can't pay our bills"
KBCI CBS 2, ID - July 10, 2008

Boise taxi cab drivers hail from all over the world, but in whatever language they speak, frustration is the key word now.

Cabbies are working longer hours and earning less as soaring gas prices soak up profits.

"We try to make ourselves improve, so we don't have to depend on the government," said Tafese Haile, a refugee from Ethiopia who drives a cab in Boise. "But we can't make anything, we can't survive, we can't pay bills."

One cab driver said he worked from 6 a.m. until midnight Tuesday and made $107. And it cost him $125 to fill up his Lincoln Navigator.

But taxi drivers can't raise their fares by themselves because in most places, including Boise, the price is regulated by local government. Read More.