July 2, 2007
Meters vs. Zones: D.C. Taxicab Commission Study
An alert tipster sent us a link to a District of Columbia Taxicab Commission release we missed. The results of the Taxicab Information Project, launched in October 2005 to study fare differences between D.C. taxis outfitted with meters against standard zone charges, were made public on June 19. Time and distance meters were installed in 21 D.C. cabs. At the beginning of each trip, drivers were instructed to drop the meter flag and record the given fare next to the charge under the zone system -- though only the zone fare was collected. The above table provides a summary of the average fares in the zone system compared against variable meter fares, adjusted depending on where the initial flag drop price and per-mile charges are set.
As you can see from the table, average meter fares were less than average zone fares in four out of six scenarios (basically all but the most expensive meter settings). The study began when one zone still cost $5.50, but by the time it ended, the new zone prices were in effect. Meter fares were set for the original study with a flag drop of $2.50 and a charge of $0.25 per 1/6 of a mile. As a point of comparison, New York City taxi rates are a $2.50 flag drop and $0.40 per 1/5 of a mile.
The study indicates that on the whole, customers traveling fewer than four miles would generally benefit from being charged by the meter, while customers traveling longer distances have cheaper rides under the zone system. Average income for cab drivers was also extrapolated from the data, but the results were so variable by cab (some did much better with zones, others with meters) based on the length of trips they took, it would be hard to say which system would be preferable to drivers.
You can download the entire 52-page report in PDF form here. Mayor Fenty has until October of this year to decide whether or not to switch D.C. taxicabs to meters, as is being pushed by some members of Congress.
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Do it! Bring sanity and fairness to the system. MAKE THE DAMN SWITCH ALREADY!
Switch to meters and join the 20th C....
seriously. The Zone system makes no sense for DC cab riders. It only makes sense for people who live in the burbs. I think it is almost entirely incomprehensible to most people and is a total scam. I refuse to take cabs in the District unless absolutely necessary because of the Zone system (and because the drivers are the worst drivers I've encountered in the country). If they had meters, I'd at least feel better about putting my life in the driver's hands.
Let's get meters in DC.
Speaking as someone who lives not in the burbs but the actual city, I don't find the zones that appalling. It still costs me $10 (that's two zones with the fuel surcharge, not including tip) to get home from Georgetown or Adams Morgan at the end of the night. If you know the zones, especially if you take a particular trip a couple times, it's not all that confusing and the drivers who are trying to cheat you out of a few extra bucks and know it will back down when you challenge them.
And it's not just taxi drivers in this city who don't know what they're doing behind the wheel...
My main reason for supporting meters is that you can actually split a cab with someone on a meter system. Under the zone system if I split a cab home from Adams Morgan to 2 destinations on Capitol Hill, each person pays a full fare. Very inconvenient.
I just moved from Capitol Hill to south of Tenleytown. A cab from, say, Fox and Hound's costs $12, not including tip. A cab from Fox and Hound's to my old place, TRAVELING A FARTHER DISTANCE, costs $9.80. Yeah, that makes sense.
I think you folks are forgetting the time-honored practice of rigging taxi meters to run faster so the hack can charge more. Big problem in cities where hack inspectors are few and lazy, something DC has in spades. Also happens a lot when gas prices spike.
The zone system blows, but DC needs to beef up the taxi commission if it wants to make meters work.
I've live here for 10 years without a car and still can't figure out the zone structure. They have random streets as the zone boundaries etc. I take a cab to the movies and coming home it's a different price when I come home, and this happens every stinking time.
Meter me!
I'm sure I would have benefited from a meter system this weekend. Took a cab from the Ellington Bridge to McClean Gardens after missing the bus. Ended up costing about $14.00 w/o tip. I think the driver misread his fare chart and it should have been $12.60 or $11, but I couldn't tell either. All I know is that's several dollars more than it would cost me to go home from work or pretty much anywhere downtown, which is longer drive.
I agree 100% with monkeyerotica, without proper enforcement, no cab system will work. Meters can be rigged, cabs can go uninspected, drivers can "sublease" to unlicensed drivers, and of course, drivers can refuse service to whomever they want. Pretty much the system we have now.
DC needs a team of taxicab inspectors with the authority to issue summonses and pull cabs out of service on the spot if they see violations. These inspectors need to work in plainclothes as well as in uniform to ensure compliance and they must work 24 hours a day. But most importantly, the cab drivers in DC need to learn that driving a cab in DC is not a right, nor is it a jobs program. It is a licensed occupation with specific rules and responsibilities and if you break those rules, or fail to live up to those responsibilities, you will lose your license and have to find a new line of work.
Fenty needs to "break" the current cab system. That means a lot of drivers will lose their cabs (because they are old and unsafe) and others will lose their jobs (because they can't find the Rayburn Building or don't know the difference between the Anacostial Naval Annex and the Navy Yard). Drivers will complain. Someone will make it a race issue. There will even be the threat of a drivers' strike. Fenty needs to stand up to all of this and demand compliance with the rules. In the end, the cabbies will back down, they always do, and the people in the city that take cabs will win.
I like the idea of a meter system as much as the next guy, but y'all who get hopelessly confused when presented with map and instructions strike me as a bit silly. I mean, jeez, how'd ya ever live through your first encounter with a traffic circle?
mlb, my opposition is less out of confusion itself, but more out of the rampant abuse of the zone system, born out of confusion, or at least a sense of being overwhelmed by the system. It doesn't instill a ton of confidence when you arrive at a destination, ask the cabbie how much, he stares at the ceiling for 5 seconds, and then pulls a number out of his ass. Between zone boundary complications to rush hour, passenger, and luggage surcharges, it's too much to process to stop and calculate when you're stopped in traffic and need to get the hell out. A meter makes all those surcharges transparent and it's easier to tell if they're gaming you. And I'm not as concerned about speeding up the meters, because that will be obvious to anyone that rides frequently, and would quickly gain media attention. Besides, let's fix that problem when we come to it.
I've probably said this before, but it bears repeating. When taking a cab in DC negotiate the fare as soon as you get in. If you think the cabbie is cheating you, instruct them to pull over and let you out. Simple as that; you don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate for.
The Zone system is a total mess and the ultimate slap in the face to District residents. $6.00 from Capitol Hill to Dupont but $11 from Dupont to Adams Morgan?? Insane. Fenty needs to have the balls to stand up against the rich out of town lawmakers who are the only benefactors to this whole zone scheme.
A couple of years ago, the District's cab drivers staged a midday "strike" to protest a proposal to scrap the zones in favor of meters.
I remember thinking, "If they're so against this, it must be good for me."
Sure, the zone system can be mastered (sort of). But that fact doesn't come close to justifying the system's continued existence.
The fact that I can and have figured out the zone fares between neighborhoods I frequent doesn't mean I should have to, and nor should anyone else.
Get in a taxi drunk, try to find the zone map, and try to figure out what the hell it means. Demand the taxi driver let you drive just to see 'how the shoe fits' and barf in the backseat when he refuses. Get arrested.
It sucks, but it happens every night.
Funny thing is, several cab drivers I've spoken to recently favor a switch to meters, if only to put an end to arguments over fares.
What ever happened to the idea of putting zone meters in cabs?
And if we, as residents are confused and gamed by the system, imagine how often tourists are. Case in point: my father took a cab from 11th and H to Connecticut and R and was charged FOURTEEN DOLLARS! At the time, it should have cost him 7 (rush hour).
I hate to be "that guy," but I was just in NYC this weekend and 1) the fare was CHEAP, 2) the driver had his license number posted in THREE PLACES, and photo/name posted clearly.
The system here is broken.
I hear you, Guest13. I think that the zone system is pretty unfair for the obvious reason that distance doesn't really equate to fare. And for that reason, I'd just as soon see it scrapped.
I'm just sayin' that, since most of those surcharges (you forgot the near-annual gas surcharge, btw) would probably still be applied on top of a meter rate, you might not find meters in DC as simple/easy/foolproof as you seem to anticipate. It'll still be an adjusted rate calculation, after all.
Hillrat gave some good advice.
And while we're at it, a printed receipt with time/date stamp, fare, and surcharges please. The technology for it is not that difficult.
#3 you obviously don't know what you're talking about. The zone system was MADE for DC cab riders, no suburbanites. You've obviously never taken it outside of district boundaries. If you thinking taking it within the district is fuzzy, try taking a cab to a non-airport destination and see how they calculate that charge.
A few of the cabs (those operated by Yellow Cab, if I'm not mistaken) use these nifty GPS-based "zone meters" that calculate fares automatically, and could easily be set up to print receipts, if they aren't already. They keep the drivers honest. This is the best solution, not by-the-mile meters.
um, is that table in english? i don't understand anything in it. is there a clff notes version?
Many people won't ride the Cabs because the zone system is too confusing. How much money are the cabs missing out on because of that?
I've lived in DC for years and I think the Cabs should be banned. If you're smart enough to understand the zone system, then you're also smart enough to understand you can get anywhere in the city by Metro Train / Bus for a fraction the price. You could also often get there a lot faster on a bicycle for free.
None of my African-American friends can even get cabs, because none will pick them up. I've seen this over and over - they need me to actually flag the car and hold the door for them, or the cabbie will floor it like he's seen a ghost. Hello?
Cabbies in DC are probably the worst drivers I've ever seen anywhere in the world, and I've been many places...
Lastly, the worst part, the streets are full of empty cabs all the time, polluting the air and taking up the street. Imagine how much nicer the air and roads would be without all those zillion cabs taking up the roads, the air, and the curbs... more people would ride the metro, buses, and bikes, which is exactly what they should be doing anyway.
First they say they are taking the carpet out of the subway cars, now this? Wow, lil' old DC is growing up to be a real city.
Great idea, people in town for a business meeting should ride a bike, or better yet, a Metrobus.
When I used to trave to DC for work, I rode Metro whenever possible. But the reality is that there are large areas of the city where Metro simply doesn't go. I had tons of meetings in Georgetown, for example, and lugging presentation materials from Foggy Bottom while wearing a suit on a 93 degree day is not an option. Don't even get me started about meetings at Bolling or the Anacostia Annex.
In addition, I also found that when travelling mid-day, taking a cab was often much quicker than taking Metro, especially if a transfer was needed. Trust me, a cab will beat Metro every time during mid-day on my regular Union Station to Federal Center SW route.
Cabs are a fact of life and necessary part of the transportation network of every major city. DC needs cabs, and it needs a better cab system.
Guest 24:
You can get anywhere in DC by bike? Really? Without getting jacked up at gunpoint? And in, say, a freezing rain where the roads are slick as snot? And if you're 75 years old?
And you can get anywhere by metro or bus? Really? At 3 am? And without, say, an extra 30 minutes to hour added to your trip?
I'm a big bike and mass transit fan, but your suggestion that cabs be banned is just stupid. Cabs are part of the mass transit system.
Guest 11:
I agree completely. Cities like NYC and even Vegas realize cabs are an integral part of what makes the city work. DC views cabs as some sort of make-work project for recent immigrants and others without other job skills.
Cabs in DC are a joke. So many cabbies literally can't find the White House. Many cabs are filthy and unsafe.
We need real cab regulation and real cab oversight. Like NYC.
Until then, adding meters isn't going to make that much difference. And given our total lack of oversight, if there is a way to cheat using the meter system you can bet your bottom dollar that DC cabbies will do it, en masse. And never get caught.
So basically it's pretty clear that cabbies will deliberately overcharge when there's a zone system. And that they also deliberately overchange when there's a zone system.
And that there's little oversight, so no one is going to get caught.
Well, let's assume what Fenty can do is provide a little oversight. Not a lot. How does he do it?
Convert to meters. And have the meters be easily tested. And then have...
RANDOM METER TESTS.
White guy in suit gets in, flashes an appropriate badge, checks meter. Writes hefty fine for violation.
And then the rest of us can stop worrying about it.
-Bill
Speaking of cabs, why aren't there more pedicabs in DC? I see maybe 1 or 2 on the Mall in the summer, but that's it. These things are all over Southeast Asia and are a good source of income for entrepreneurs. I'm not talking just tourist duty, but getting people from one part of town to the other. There have been plenty of times where I've had to meet friends downtown and it's always a hassle to get from bar to restaurant to bar to home, who's going with who, which cab should we take, etc. Biking isn't always an option when you're dressed to go out, unless Zatinya has a shower in back that they're not letting customers know about.
Hillman's right. Cabs have to be part of a broad solution of getting people around town, but there needs to be other options besides Caprice Classics and Chrysler Lebarons. There should be a line of pedicabs on 18th Street, Gallery Place, Wisconsin and L, so people don't have to drive around drunk. And on short-haul trips from Foggy Bottom to Dupont to Shaw, they'd give the auto cabs a run for their money. Hell, even a few motorized pedicabs would be an improvement.
Why are the only options cars, buses, or subways? I guess when your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
I have traveled to DC for years and now live here, and I have always said that DC cabs were the worst by far. In NYC, they're clean, there's a friendly reminder to buckle up, and the cab drivers get you where you're going efficiently and inexpensively.
Just going from Union Station to the Eastern Market cost me $14.00. When it's dark out, you can't read the zone maps to challenge the rate, nor can you understand them if you're new to the area.
A few years ago, I was managing a conference down here. My colleagues and I jumped into a cab when my colleague's phone rang. It was an important call, at which point the cab driver turned UP the radio. My colleague began to speak louder so the cab driver again turned UP the radio. We asked him to turn down the radio and he launched into a nasty tirade about this being HIS cab and that we were rudely interrupting his radio program.
It's a cab in DC; who DOESN'T get stuck on the phone for business?