Local
Already No. 1, D.C. to license more taxicab drivers
By: Michael Neibauer
Examiner Staff Writer
October 16, 2008
The D.C. Taxicab Commission next month plans to start registering applicants for hack licensing examinations, three years after the exam’s answers were compromised and the testing halted.
The commission has not licensed any new cab operators since 2005, when the driver’s test was abruptly withdrawn after the answers were released to the streets. Roughly 2,000 people have since taken the $375, 60-hour training course at the University of the District of Columbia, but have been unable to get a taxicab license.
“We’re doing a disservice, not only to the people who paid their money, but we’re doing a disservice to the entire industry,” Taxicab Commission Chairman Leon Swain said during a July meeting.
The District has about 6,700 taxi drivers, more per capita than any other U.S. city.
The $58 test, to be administered nine times a week starting in January, will be available only for individuals who have passed the UDC course, which could put several thousand more drivers on the streets. It isn’t known, however, how many people will take the test, and even if they all pass, how many will own their own cabs.
The city has enough taxis, said Ward 1 D.C. Councilman Jim Graham, who has oversight of taxi-related matters. The council, at Graham’s urging, last month placed a two-year moratorium on the establishment of new taxicab companies.
“We’re wrestling with the issue,” Graham said. “We have so many drivers and so many cabs that it’s reached the point where we’re just wittingly contributing to the issue of an abundance of cabs.”
It might be time to consider a medallion system to artificially restrict the number of licensed taxis on the streets, Graham said. There are only 13,000 cabs operating in New York City, which has required medallions for 80 years.
The District’s taxi industry experienced a monumental shift earlier this year with the switch from zone fares to time and distance meters. Cab drivers, many of whom opposed meters, claim the struggling economy and lower fares are cutting into their incomes.
“To have more actually decreases the income that has already been cut from the drivers,” said Nathan Price, chairman of the D.C. Professional Taxicab Drivers Association. “Drivers are really suffering on the street.”
The commission has not licensed any new cab operators since 2005, when the driver’s test was abruptly withdrawn after the answers were released to the streets. Roughly 2,000 people have since taken the $375, 60-hour training course at the University of the District of Columbia, but have been unable to get a taxicab license.
“We’re doing a disservice, not only to the people who paid their money, but we’re doing a disservice to the entire industry,” Taxicab Commission Chairman Leon Swain said during a July meeting.
The District has about 6,700 taxi drivers, more per capita than any other U.S. city.
The $58 test, to be administered nine times a week starting in January, will be available only for individuals who have passed the UDC course, which could put several thousand more drivers on the streets. It isn’t known, however, how many people will take the test, and even if they all pass, how many will own their own cabs.
The city has enough taxis, said Ward 1 D.C. Councilman Jim Graham, who has oversight of taxi-related matters. The council, at Graham’s urging, last month placed a two-year moratorium on the establishment of new taxicab companies.
“We’re wrestling with the issue,” Graham said. “We have so many drivers and so many cabs that it’s reached the point where we’re just wittingly contributing to the issue of an abundance of cabs.”
It might be time to consider a medallion system to artificially restrict the number of licensed taxis on the streets, Graham said. There are only 13,000 cabs operating in New York City, which has required medallions for 80 years.
The District’s taxi industry experienced a monumental shift earlier this year with the switch from zone fares to time and distance meters. Cab drivers, many of whom opposed meters, claim the struggling economy and lower fares are cutting into their incomes.
“To have more actually decreases the income that has already been cut from the drivers,” said Nathan Price, chairman of the D.C. Professional Taxicab Drivers Association. “Drivers are really suffering on the street.”
