September 11, 2007
Taxicab Commission Fails to Make a Recommendation
Well, this isn't exactly what we were expecting. Rather than voting to endorse a change to meters, or keeping the existing zone system, or the third-option of those "zone meters" we talked about yesterday, the D.C. Taxicab Commission today decided to do ... absolutely nothing. The Post has more, describing today's meeting as being deadlocked, which led to the non-decision to recommend that Mayor Fenty make the call all on his own.
This is just the latest stupid incident in the long history of the famously incompetent taxi agency. Just last month, the commission canceled a public hearing on this very issue the day of, citing a lack of parking. And of course, there are decades of stories we could sift through regarding the ineffectiveness of the commission when it comes to taking any action whatsoever in response to customer complaints about drivers who break the law -- stories that led Mayor Anthony Williams to a failed attempt to abolish the agency in 2004, only to be thwarted by a 12-hour cabbie strike which briefly brought Washington to a standstill.
Mayor Fenty has been keeping mum on the issue of switching to meters ever since he took office, but it is now time for him to speak up on what he really thinks the city ought to do regarding taxi regulation -- both whether we should switch to meters or not, and whether the useless D.C. Taxicab Commission ought to once again be looked at for major reform.
Photo by terecico
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How pathetic! Seems like the commission is just a useless bunch of, well, hacks.
"Well, this isn't exactly what we were expecting."
"This is just the latest stupid incident in the long history of the famously incompetent taxi agency."
I think this is *exactly* what we should have expected.
How much are the members of the taxi commission paid? Since they do nothing, they should be paid nothing.
What is the most effective way to let Fenty know how we feel about this?
Typical government hacks. Hey we won't make a decision, easier to sit on our butts throw it to the politicians to decide, which they won't because they don't have the balls, meanwhile we an still collect the guvmint cheese.
I don't understand why the commission (and perhaps the Mayor) lives in fear of a cab strike. History has shown that cab strikes always fail. Traffic is tied up for one day at most, but then, the cab drivers return. Giulliani waited out several strikes in NYC and each time, the cabs were back the next day. Last week's NYC strike was, by all accounts, a total bust.
Meters, GPS, credit card scanners, it all comes down to the same issue. Skimming. Cab drivers, and their representatives, feel that they have an inherent right to rip off their customers and the government. Whether its overcharging tourists (or locals) for a trip, or not reporting their income, it is all illegal and, incredibly enough, the DC Taxi Commission refuses to take any step to correct this problem.
Now its up to Fenty. Put meters in every cab. Require every cab to take credit cards. Require every cab to be no older than 4 years old. Hire plainclothed inspectors to enforce the rules. Call the drivers' bluff, let them strike for a day, they will be back.
Guest 6 has it about right. I'd add one more thing - require cabbies to pass a knowledge test, to show they know at least basic things about DC, like how to get to the freaking Capitol. I can't count the number of times that cabbies in DC have no idea where they are going.
Cabbies in London apparently study for years before being granted licenses. I'm not asking for that (even though it'd be great). I'm just asking for some sort of basic geographical knowledge test.
DC is a national embarrassment. It would be a national embarrassment in Paraguay. This city has perhaps more concentrated brainpower than anywhere else in the world, and the wealthiest national government on the planet is sitting right here. Yet not a single organ of local government knows its ass from its elbow.
I've spent a great deal of time in the third world, and I've never seen this kind of gross incompetence on such a grand scale. Anywhere.
I'm so glad I moved to Montgomery County.
If only we could be so lucky to have some standard even 1/4 of what London cabbies are held to.
http://www.taxiknowledge.co.uk/how.html
In London cabbies take pride in their work and their cabs, and the lore of "the knowledge" is something that impresses even the broader citizenry.
In DC, cabbies basically could give a sh*t, drive completely hoopdie junkers, and don't even follow basic traffic safety laws (when was the last time you saw a cab use a turn signal?).
God, I love living in the capital of the free world.
Techincally these aren't taxis, and the taxicab commission is a misnomer as well. Taxicabs, by definition have taximeters - and taximeters (from the Greek words "taxa" and "metron" to "charge" and to "measure") measure distances and/or times to figure out the fare. Without such a device these are not taxis, they're just vehicles for hire. Technically.
Maybe you should start a sister blog called dcsucksit.com
The taxis could be just one of many, many items on there.
Do a search for "s**t or get off the pot" and you'll see a .jpg of the DC Taxi Commission. I wouldn't pee in their faces if their heads were on fire.
The London cabbies being referred to are the ones who drive the old-style black carriage hacks. They do indeed have to pass a rigorous exam to keep their licenses. There are also the second-tier hacks, who don't have to meet such stringent criteria, but whose brake pads DC cabbies are still not worthy to lick.
Good luck trying to get anyone providing a public service in DC to meet any stringent performance standard.
Start importing Malaysian pedicab drivers. $5 says they can figure out how to get around DC better ON FOOT than half the cabbies downtown. Hell, they could probably score you non-disease-ridden hookers and an eight-ball of coke for a decent price.
I emailed the commission for a copy of the "survey" they did. I am really interested to see how the questions were phrased, and who they asked where half the people said they opposed meters.
Doesn't seem right. Maybe someone here can help get a copy. I can just imagine a question like "Would you support meters even though you could pay more?"
Guest 11, you're awesome.
You know how you travel to foreign countries, and guide books tell you to negotiate a fare before you get in a cab and only use certain ones because the hacks tend to spot tourists & try to rip them off...?
Sound familiar, DC cab comission?
What is the most eloquent and professional way to convey a message of "Fuck you, you stupid pieces of shit" to the Taxi Commission? As a DC resident and regular taxi user, that's exactly what I want to do right about now.
speaking of bad cabbies, i cant remember the last time I got in the cab and he wasnt talking on his GD cell phone. They must be doing well to pay for those minutes!!
I just found out that Sandy Allen is DC taxi commissioner (as in, she's the idiot who leads a board that can't do its job and require meters).
Remember, this is the woman who lost to Marion Barry in the ward 8 council race after dude was busted with "white powder" on his nose and in a baggie in his car (honestly officer, it's powdered sugar).
Now everybody is wondering why our taxi system is so f'ed up? Really? People are surprised???
I guess I agree with #6 as amended by Hillman. I today had the pleasure of riding with a cabbie who steered with his left hand while chatting on the phone with his right, who didn't display his ID, and who discharged me into a busy rush-hour lane rather than making a turn he didn't want to.
It's not the system, it's the scammers.
Did you know most DC cabs are from NYC, but they send us all the cabs that will no longer pass inspection in NYC? That's what we get for having such low standards. It appears they also send us their worst drivers.
Well, this is another opportunity for Fenty to do something to improve quality of life for taxpayers. Put meters in cabs so we're like every other normal city in the world, and when he wants to run for something bigger, he can add that to his resume. He's almost in an enviable position because there are a number of things he needs to do just to make DC not seem like a 3rd world country, and when he does them, he can actually call them accomplishments. Very easy things...I'll keep my fingers crossed.
I think we're going about this the wrong way. DC needs to embrace its 3rd world-ness! Bring on the pedicabs and sedan chairs and open air bazaars and vendors cooking on the sidewalk over charcoal grills! Any day now, drug dealers will give up their pit bulls in favor of barbary apes and trained hyenas. Just because we haven't had a water turbidity warning lately doesn't mean we still can't have the occasional cholera epidemic. And where are our Guatemalan death squads when we need them on Sunday to deal with the double-parking churchies and people who hold up the line in the coffee shop while they babble on their cellphones?
There's a lot we can learn from the so-called 3rd world.
Councilmember Sandy Allen
url
202-724-8045 Fax: 202-724-8055 1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW # 408, Washington, DC 20004
Sandy Allen is a former Councilmember; I doubt she's still got an office in the Wilson Building.
Doesn't seem right. Maybe someone here can help get a copy. I can just imagine a question like "Would you support meters even though you could pay more?"
I got a copy, and it's actually a halfway competent piece of work -- the Commission may have made fools of themselves yesterday on several levels, but rather than do the survey themselves, they hired Zogby International to do it, and Zogby is a professional outfit.
Here are the actual questions:
6. The District's zone system should be replaced by a time and distance system. (note: "time and distance system" had already come up in the survey, in the context of a question asking whether the respondent had ridden cabs in other cities. 24% of the survey group hadn't; this group was overwhelmingly likely to prefer the zone system. This seems significant.)
Strongly Agree: 35%
Somewhat Agree: 13%
Somewhat Disagree: 17%
Strongly Disagree: 32%
Not Sure: 3%
Majorities agree with a transition to time and distance in Ward 2 (66%), Ward 3 (61%), Ward 8 (52%) and Ward 6 (51%). Those disagreeing are in the majority in Ward 1 (62%), Ward 4 (58%), Ward 7 (57%), and Ward 5 (54%). More than half of frequent cab riders (54%) support a move to time and distance systems, while 43% of those who ride in a cab less than once a month hold the same opinion.
(The preference for meters on the part of frequent riders makes sense to me. If you ride a lot, statistical noise will even out, but it you only ride once a month, it might be on the day there's the backup from Hell, costing you an extra $10 or $20. Small sample size -> greater risk aversion.)
9. Which of the following three taxi cab fare systems would you most like to see used by cabs in the District of Columbia -- (zone meter), (time and distance meter), or (status quo)?
Time and Distance Meter: 38%
Zone Meter: 33%
Status Quo: 28%
(Personally, I admit to opposing time and distance meters, which on DCist is like admitting to a fondness for Jonathan Rees slashfic, but I'm not letting that affect my reporting here.)
Disclaimer: In a professional capacity, I have previously had occasion to work with the D.C. Taxi Commission. Any opinions in this comment are solely mine and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of my employer or the D.C. Taxi Commission.
I'm curious as to if NYC folks complain about having meters in cabs when they sit in traffic? What about L.A. (I've never been in a cab in L.A. before)?
I've been in plenty of cabs in NYC including during business & rush hours. I didn't feel ripped off by the meter, even while sitting in mid-town Manhattan traffic. Then again I don't ride in enough NYC cabs to make a good comparison.
What you say NYC (and other large city) transplants?
P.S. taking a cab from DC back to VA is always a guessing game of "what is it going to cost this time?"
Twitch, the idle time charges are a blip on your radar screen, but not enough to get concerned about. If the traffic is bad enough that it really starts making a huge dent, it's best to just get out of the cab and walk, and you'll get there faster anyway. Traffic in DC proper is NEVER that bad.
I live in Chicago and and have traveled to D.C. a few times. What irritates me about D.C. is how unpredicatble the pricing is. I feel like even if I feel it is wrong, the whole system is so confusing, how does one contest it?
In Chicago, with the meter, it is obvious if the cabbie cheats you out of change or fucks with the meter.
For tourists this is a much better system.
Krisa,
That was my point (though I didn't state it): DC traffic is on par with other major cities. So if the meters work there than why not here?
In NYC I have always felt like drivers do their best to find the quickest route. Would DC drivers do the same or purposely sit in traffic? Granted, NYC streets have a much better grid system then DC does and I think that makes a difference in traffic. I doubt that the majority of DC cabbies would scam because the increase in the fare would be negligible when compared to finishing the route and picking up a new fare (i.e. person).
In the end I think I'll stick to walking.