[jacquesm]

The costs of operating a taxi depends very much on the location. Assuming a US centric view:

- permit (medallion, whatever)

- labour

- write-off on the taxi

- taxes

- fuel, tires

- insurance

- inspection

- credit card processing fees

Top all of that off with a healthy profit otherwise your taxi operator goes out of business quickly.

All of these to a greater or lesser extent contribute to the costs and result in a price-per distance unit (mile/km) driven and a wait tarif.

Taxis have considerable down-time between jobs so utilization is a factor as well.