Mayor Adrian Fenty is spurning a D.C. Council directive to lift the $19 cap on taxicab rides that start and end in the District, contending that Congress awarded his administration total control over fares and meter regulation. The cap is a holdout from the zone fare system, which was supplanted by time and distance meters in June 2008. Drivers today complain they are forced to work for nothing when the meter hits $19 short of a destination. Riders are the beneficiaries, especially those traveling cross-city during rush hour.

The council killed the cap in the current budget, adopted last August, but the limit remains. According to an opinion issued by the office of Attorney General Peter Nickles, the mayor was awarded by Congress exclusive authority to set taxi rates and the council’s action “unlawfully” interfered with that power.