TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Franz Hofbauer, owner of City Taxi in Tallahassee is dealing with what seems like one gas crisis after another. With rising costs of fuel, and a company that depends on it to operate, drivers for the company are trying to find ways to reduce how much gas they're using to save money.
"Typical driver can spend anywhere from $50 to $70 per day just in fuel, and with the prices going up as they are now, we're talking maybe another 20% increase on top of that," said Hofbauer.
Drivers for City Taxi are independent contractors, meaning they have to foot the bill every time they pay at the pump.
"With the gas prices the way they are, drivers are very concerned and focused on reserving as much gas as possible, so it has reduced their likelihood of driving across town to get a trip that may not be going very far," said Hofbauer.
City Taxi drivers taking steps to conserve gas is something the company saw last year when gas was in short supply in south due to the colonial pipeline hack.
"They tend to want to stay close to their location, so they'll wait on calls to come within a few miles of them instead of having to drive seven or eight miles for a call," said Hofbauer.
With gas now averaging $4.04 a gallon in Tallahassee, City taxi said they aren't passing those price increases to their customers.
And neither is Tallahassee based Big Bros. Moving company.
"We try to meet everyone's needs," said co-owner Charles Shelton. "We're willing to bite that bullet, we're willing to take a loss in such a stressful time when customers are tyring to make new plans in their life."
Shelton and Jaquan Nichols said that they charge around $6 per mile for mileage fee's during moving jobs... In order to make a profit during some jobs, they would have to increase that price. However, they say helping their customers through difficult situations is something they strive for."
"Like I said, we're willing to bite that bullet as long as we have to just to make sure that no one else is really dealing with it," said Nichols.
