District taxi cab drivers are suing Mayor Vince Gray and the D.C. Taxicab Commission, alleging that meter fares have bee set arbitrarily and it’s putting the livelihood of many of the city’s drivers in jeopardy. The D.C. Professional Taxicab Drivers Association and the Dominion of Cab Drivers say the current rates are the lowest in the area and among the lowest in the United States, and that the driver’s have been shut out of the decision making process.
“This is not about greed, this is purely about fairness,” said the drivers’ attorney Bob Lian Jr. “We need a court to step in and help.”
| Taxi rates in D.C. |
| > Drivers receive $3 for first sixth of a mile and 25 cents for every sixth of a mile afterward or $1.50 per mile, with a maximum fare of $19 for rides within the District. |
Gray said he believes many of the drivers’ concerns can be resolved without litigation.
“The lawsuit filed today is disappointing and misguided,” Gray said in a statement.
The District is addressing the “reasonable concerns” of the taxicab industry while ensuring residents and visitors get the best service, the mayor said.
The case stems from the 2008 clash over fares between former Mayor Adrian Fenty and the taxi industry, in which the mayor ordered the switch from a zone system to a system based on time and distance.
The lawsuit said that Fenty unlawfully seized too much power, and although Gray has returned some of the authority to the commission, all of the rate-setting is up to taxicab commission chairman, Ron Linton. The lawsuit also named Linton as a defendant.
The lawsuit claims that the rates and the makeup of the commission are unlawful.
The drivers are asking the court to direct the city and the taxicab commission to conduct a rate study and to appoint the required three members from the taxi cab industry to the nine-member taxicab commission.
The lawsuit, which does not seek a monetary award, is “the last line of defense,” Lian said.
The current rates has forced the drivers to work longer hours just to make ends meet, and workers have seen their incomes drop 30 percent in the past three years, the suit said.
The law requires that three of the nine representatives on the commission work in the taxi industry.
