Cab drivers have always had a bit of a conundrum with drunk passengers - they provide a decent chunk of their income, but they also regularly leave other chunks in the back of their cars.

Of all the tasks a cabbie has to deal with, cleaning up someone's vomit has to be the worst possible one. It's tough enough when you have to clean up your own mess, but having to scrape puke off the back seat of your car must be pretty miserable. The problem is so bad, that Chicago cabbies are asking the city for permission to charge $50 for anyone that loses their liquid dinner in their vehicle.

Cleaning a soiled cab takes several hours, and a professional vomit cleaning kit costs almost $100. The last thing you want is to try picking up passengers in a vehicle that stinks of puke.

The "vomit surcharge" is just one of many fare hikes the drivers want. The other fees include a $1.50 credit card surcharge, $1 for each additional passenger and a 22% per-mile fee increase. The proposals are under consideration, but there appears to be little support for it.

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Filed under: North America