New York – For the average driver, filling up the gas tank once a week is bad enough. But for cab drivers in big cities like New York City who fill up their tanks daily, skyrocketing gas prices (search) have their wallets running on empty.
Taxi drivers across the country are feeling the pinch of higher gas prices - an added burden in addition to their other costs such as car leases, car washes and maintenance.
New York City cab driver Emanuel Sofiev told FOX News that the increasing costs are leading him to rethink his occupation, but he says that leaving his cab behind may not be an option.
"I'm thinking for [a] long time to change my job but I'm so tight," Sofiev said. "I have four children, I have two mortgages and I cannot leave my work and start something else."
Across the country, taxi services are looking for ways to generate more revenue from each ride.
In Boston, taxi drivers are mulling whether to file a surcharge or rate increase request, while New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission (search) went a step further by approving a 26 percent fare increase last year to help make up for the expected increase in gas costs.
"They (cab drivers) are losing on average about $6 a day but they are also earning $35 more per day on average per day since last year," said New York Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Matthew Daus. "We'll hope the price goes down and we'll see what the future brings."
Cab drivers told FOX News they long for the day when they paid $15 a day to fill up their tanks instead of $35 to $40. But it looks like gas prices will only get worse before it gets better, as AAA projects that gas prices will continue to climb in the next six months.
Click in the video box above for a complete report by FOX News' Julie Banderas.
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