Thousands of D.C. taxicab drivers stopped working Tuesday, protesting measures that they say could drive them out of business.
The lack of drivers could be felt on the streets of the nation’s capital.
With no luck catching a cab at Logan Circle, one woman walked down to the business district where she thought she would have a better chance.
“I’ve been waiting here for a half an hour,” Alexandra said as she stood on the corner of 15th and K streets with her arm in the air. She then decided to walk to the Eisenhower building, her destination.
Taxis stands in front of several downtown hotels were empty, two people on K Street told The Examiner.
The stoppage lasted until 6 p.m. Tuesday, when the three groups representing as many as 5,000 of the city’s 8,000 cab drivers ended their work action.
“This is the initial strike,” said Larry Frankel of the Dominion of Cab Drivers. “We have other strikes and protests we will be carrying out through the coming weeks.”
In July, the D.C. Taxicab Commission closed the hacker’s licensing examination to new applicants. Now, the D.C. Council is considering switching to a new licensing system — certificate or medallion. Both systems would cap the number of taxi drivers in the city and could substantially increase the cost of a license.
“The problem we’re facing right now is the increasing number of people trying to enter this system,” said D.C. Councilman Jim Graham, D-Ward 1, who chairs the Public Works and Transportation Committee.
He has scheduled a public hearing on the issue for Oct. 1.
“[Drivers] should come to the hearing,” Graham said. “Nothing has been settled. They should come and testify.”
Medallions in some major cities cost tens of thousands of dollars, and can be auctioned off for hundreds of thousands if there’s a limit on the number of cab drivers in the area. Because of the moratorium on the number of cabs in New York City, medallions there sell for more than half of a million dollars.
A D.C. cab driver’s license currently goes for just $125.
Cab drivers and city officials have been battling for years. The longtime fare zone system was replaced in June 2008 with time and distance meters. Also put in place was a $19 cap on taxicab rides that start and end in the District. Cab drivers despised the cap, and the D.C. Council lifted it this summer.
