Mayor Adrian Fenty Wednesday met a congressional mandate to junk the District’s Depression-era taxicab zone-fare system in favor of the time and distance meters used in every other major U.S. city.
The long-awaited decision was based on a “clear majority” of resident support for meters in the city’s 7,500 mostly independent cabs, Fenty said. It is time for the zone system “to come to an end,” he said, in favor of one that ensures plainly visible fares, diminishes instances of overcharging and provides for a clearer relationship between the fare and distance traveled.
Nearly three-quarters of all respondents to a recent D.C. survey reported city taxi service as fair or poor, and a majority found the zone system difficult to navigate, figures the mayor said he couldn’t ignore.
The D.C. Taxicab Commission will meet within two weeks to set a timeline for the switch, said Chairman Leon Swain.
“It’s just going to bring us into the 21st Century,” Swain said.
But some drivers fear a meter system will portend more changes, such as the consolidation of their industry under a handful of well-financed cab companies. Driver Timmy Oluwa, for example, dreaded the loss of his independence much more than a flip to meters.
“I’m shocked,” said Motz Zarooq, a driver with Anacostia Cab. “I never expected [Fenty] to go that way.”
The average taxicab meter costs between $225 and $400. Swain said he anticipates contacting meter companies to negotiate a price that would be “beneficial for everybody.” He also said he would protect drivers’ independence, though he wouldn’t be surprised if some went on strike over the decision.
Yellow Cab D.C., which operates with GPS-based zone calculators, is “extremely disappointed,” said Roy D. Spooner, general manager. Residents from east of the Anacostia River who depend on the fixed price of the zone system will be most affected, he said, as “every [metered] cab ride is a crapshoot.”
Fenty was forced by Congress to decide on the fare issue by Wednesday. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., slipped a provision into a D.C. authorization bill requiring meters, though it also provided the mayor with the authority to opt out.
“Washington is a world-class capital city with a strong mayor, and hisdecision reflects that,” Levin said in a statement.
Ward 1 D.C. Council Member Jim Graham, who has oversight of taxi matters, recommended that Fenty opt out.
“I did not feel is was appropriate for the fare system to be decided by a lawmaker from another state,” he said in an e-mail to constituents.
