Three local taxicab companies will share responsibilities for picking up passengers at Dulles International Airport beginning Dec. 1 under a proposal approved Wednesday.
The board of directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates Dulles and Reagan National airports, endorsed the plan over strong objections from the D.C. government. City officials are upset that District Cab, which had 100 cabs serving Dulles since 2000, was ranked fifth in the evaluation process. D.C. officials estimate the city will lose dozens of jobs and $1.3 million in tax revenue over five years because of the decision.
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“We want to bring more business and more jobs to the District,” said H.R. Crawford, an MWAA board member and former D.C. Council member. “The cab company does most of its hiring in Wards 7 and 8. It’s one of the biggest employers in that area. I respect the staff, but D.C. leadership was very upset about this.”
The MWAA board decided to go with two companies from Virginia and one from Maryland, based on rankings provided by authority staff. The contract was awarded to Virginia’s Dulles Taxi Systems, which already provides 530 cabs to the airport, Falls Church-based Dulles Airport Taxi and Baltimore’s Yellow Cab Company. Exact terms of the contract will be negotiated with the companies by James Bennett, the authority’s chief executive officer.
“We are hoping the competition among the companies will raise the bar for the level of service provided to customers,” Bennett said. “The bar is already high; we’re hopeful the companies will take it even higher.”
The new competition will not affect fares, which are set by a regional commission, but could increase the number of cabs waiting for airport passengers.
“We feel it is a win-win situation for the cab companies, the airport, the passengers, the taxi drivers, everyone,” said John Massoud, Dulles Airport Taxi executive.
Despite Wednesday’s decision, Crawford said, he will continue to work on expanding opportunities for cab companies at Dulles in the future.
“It does not make sense for a cab to pick up a passenger in the District, drive the person to Dulles and then have come back to the city empty,” he said.
