D.C. cabs that don’t have meters installed in them will be barred from picking up passengers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport starting June 1.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which manages Reagan and Washington Dulles International airports, has decided to enforce the same deadline for the switch from the zone system to time and distance meters mandated by the District of Columbia.
The move will ensure that District cab drivers who subsist on airport traffic won’t be able to skirt the new rules.
“This is completely tied to the rules by the District,” authority spokesman Robert Yingling said. “District taxicabs can pick up passengers at Reagan National, but once the District’s enforcement kicks in on June 1, we won’t allow cabs without meters to pick up passengers.”
MWAA is expecting D.C. taxi drivers to abide by the new, mileage-based rates when picking up airport customers.
The authority has posted the new rates on its Web site and printed them on the passenger information card it hands out to taxi customers.
Taxi fares in the District are based on geographic zones. Critics say the system is confusing, particularly to out-of-town visitors.
Many of the city’s 6,500 cab drivers prefer the zones, saying the new rates will earn them less money and drive them out of business.
The new rates were supposed to be enforced in the District beginning May 1, but Mayor Adrian Fenty announced in April the city would hand out warnings until June 1.
Beginning in June, taxi drivers who don’t have meters installed in their cars will be fined $1,000, he said.
