BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Being a cab driver in Baltimore is far from easy, says taxi driver Hassan Bouh.

Sky-rocketing gas prices, bumpy city streets, and the threat of robbery always lurking around the next corner all make driving a cab a tough job.

“You never know who you are going to pick up,” he said.

But Bouh said Yellow Cab’s recently inked exclusive agreement with the Renaissance Hotel at the Inner Harbor — one of 26 such deals across the city — is making driving a taxi for a living in Baltimore an even more difficult proposition.

“They’re killing us,” said Bouh, standing on the sidewalk outside Penn Station during an impromptu protest organized by cab drivers Thursday afternoon.

“They have a monopoly on the business, and it’s not fair,” Hassan said.

Joined by roughly 50 other taxi drivers, Hassan was one of many who said Yellow Cab’s tightening grip on the city’s prime tourist spots including Baltimore’s Penn Station, roughly a dozen prime hotels and several major hospitals, has made earning a living increasingly difficult.

“We all pay the same fees and have the same license, but we can’t pick up passengers at the train station,” said Florain Folawiya, another driver for Diamond Cab who joined the protest.

But officials for Yellow Cab said exclusive contracts are awarded based on the quality of service.

“We have high standards for our drivers, and our customers want us to be accountable to them,” said Mark Joseph, president of Yellow Transportation, which manages Yellow Cab.

Some drivers blamed the Public Service Commission, which regulates cab drivers.

“We all have a public service badge,” said Toya Fogg, another Diamond driver.

“So we should all have the same opportunity. They need to do more to make it fair.”

Calls to the Public Service Commission were not returned by press time.

sjanis@baltimoreexaminer.com