December 26, 2007
Taxi Drivers Handing Out Surveys
The Washington Post says that taxicab drivers are handing out surveys to riders about the impending change from zones to meters. Drivers have until Jan. 8 to hand in public comments to the D.C. Taxicab Commission and the mayor's office, which means that if you get in a D.C. cab between now and then, odds are pretty good you'll be asked to complete a survey.
We haven't spotted one of the surveys ourselves yet, but based on the Post article, the questions appear to be the following:
1) Do you feel you were consulted by the mayor regarding the change to meters?
2) Do you prefer time-and-distance meters?
3) Would you prefer zone meters?
Question one is pretty clearly designed to get people's outrage up, and question 3 indicates that at least the survey's designer is still clinging to the hope that moving to zone meters is still a possibility (and interestingly, no longer bothering with promoting keeping the zone system just as it is, without any kind of meter).
Today's Post story indicates that so far, a surprisingly huge percentage of respondents prefer keeping the zone system, which differs from the results of the reader survey that influenced Mayor Fenty's decision. Think there could be a little selection bias going on here?
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The mayor doesn't have to consult me directly. This isn't a government run by the people themselves. This survey only needs one question instead of three.
I'd hardly trust cab drivers and livery companies to administer this survey well, regardless of how well the questions are authored. It isn't just a question of poor survey questions (just about any presidential campaign poll is piss-poor in that regard too), but what the self-interest of those handing out, collecting, safe-guarding and measuring survey responses.
Who knows how many surveys will get lost or responses never happened ... but did.
I find it interesting in the article it mentions that the people hit hardest will be the elderly who rely on the taxi to get to and from doctors visits. Cab rides are a minimum $6.50 under the zone system. To me, cab rides for every-day errands are sort of a 'luxury'. Nobody NEEDS to take a taxi anywhere. Public transportation is widespread in DC at a fraction of the cost.
And, how can anyone be angry for not being consulted on this decision. This is why we elect a mayor for DC.
Lastly, arent 2 and 3 pretty much the same question?
Bogus survey. First off, it sounds like they're purposely targeting the very drivers they claim will be hurt by the change to time/distance meters (why else would you hand out surveys to 40 churches). Secondly, the story makes it sound like the drivers lobby the passengers while giving them the survey "There's no way I can cheat you."
If they want a survey that is hard to dispute, hire a firm to call DC residents. Should be pretty easy to come up with a survey sample that represents a good cross-section of customers. Oh wait, that's already been done and the cabbies didn't like the results.
Josef Stalin once said something to the effect of: "It doesn't matter who is voting, what matters is who is counting the votes."
Appropriate in this case, don't y'all think?
I don't trust cabbies to calculate the fares based on the current zone system (especially when I know the zone boundaries and the cabbie either doesn't or conveniently forgets). I certainly don't trust them to run an honest survey or accurately tabulate the results.
Meters are coming. Get used to it. Stop fighting a losing cause.
What a joke. They ask customers if they like the system before giving them the survey, watch them fill it out, and then collect the surveys themselves?
The Post is such a piece of crap. While in that article they don't represent the survey as anything scientific, they at least could point out to readers that the survey methodology, and consequently the results, are completely self-serving and meaningless.
Sorry cab drivers. Now that the fossil of a zone system will be consigned to history, you are going to have to pay tax on your income.
Apparently the Post has no shame and will 'report' on anything but doesn't have the balls to point out the sheer stupidity of this 'survey' or to bother asking those involved actual questions like "Isn't this survey methodology a bit unusual and seemingly designed to give a certain pro-zone outcome?."
I can't think of a more self-serving 'survey' method.
And I can't think of poorer reporting.
Does anyone know how cabbies are taxed? Under the zone system, a fare *technically* doesn't have to be recorded if a cabbie is not working for a company which requires it, right? If so, and if they're taxed based on total revenue, there could be massive tax implications for cabbies who now have a meter printing receipts from all their trips. I don't think this has to do with the moderate difference between zone/meter fares, I think they're just trying to avoid paying taxes like the rest of us, though I could be wrong.
not only is there the potential tax issue, there's also the "double dipping" issue. with meters, the cabbies will no longer be able to pick up an additional passenger and make two fares for roughly one trip.
i love it when i'm late for a meeting and the cab i'm in is stopping every other block trying to pick up another passenger while i'm still in the cab. awesome!!
Redline, as I understand it, most of DC's cab drivers are considered independent contractors, rather than employees of a specific company. And so they are left to their own devices to decide how much income to report. So it's fairly easy to game the current system. Either type of meter would make it much harder.
If I remember correctly (and I may be totally wrong), DC's cabbies are almost all independent contractors, but they are affiliated with only a handful of actual owners that lease them their cars and issue them insurance coverage. It's not a near monopoly like what Barwood basically has in MoCo, but it's not the plethora of small businesses like the cabbies like to portray.
Does anyone know how cabbies are taxed? Under the zone system, a fare *technically* doesn't have to be recorded if a cabbie is not working for a company which requires it, right?
Nope. All taxi drivers are legally required to record all fares and pay DC taxes on them. However, without a meter it's hard to confirm that the written manifest doesn't leave off any trips, so it's quite easy under the current zone system to under-report income and avoid paying taxes.
That said, I don't think this is actually that big a factor in taxi drivers' opposition to meters. The zone meter, which is what these cabbies clearly want, can also provide the same sort of audit trail as a time and distance meter and would allow the city to crack down on under-reporting.
FWIW, I'd actually like the zone meter, but the "survey" in this article doesn't sound like it's worth the paper it's printed on.
If I remember correctly (and I may be totally wrong), DC's cabbies are almost all independent contractors, but they are affiliated with only a handful of actual owners that lease them their cars and issue them insurance coverage.
No, you're only mostly wrong. About two-thirds of DC cabbies are owner-operators; we're the only major city in America where owner-operators make up a significant portion of the taxicab fleet. However, many owner-operator taxicab drivers are members of associations, which do pool common costs, sometimes including insurance.
The hilarious result will be when the cabbies are successful in their bid to keep the zone system, but get blindsided by the District contracting with a company which utilizes GPS to incorporate DC's insane zone system into a real-time/ real-fare tracking application, which requires a pickup location and destination location to generate a receipt. After all, they aren't arguing for the ability to keep some of their fares "off the books." Psha, that would be illegal income tax evasion, which is a big "no-no" under the current system. What they're really trying to do is to preserve the simple, equitable system that we have all come to love, especially when we are blitzed after a night of drinking or are in from out of town and have no understanding of the zone system.
And after all- they're looking out for the consumer who would otherwise get hit with the penalty of additional time on the meter when stopped in traffic. They're looking out for the little huy here!!! Damn that evil Mayor Fenty and his Capo Councilpeople, what with their heartless pillaging of the working little guy!
Of course, the best part will be when it ends up costing the cabbies four times to retrofit their cabs with the new GPS-Zone meters compared with the time/distance meter used by, oh geez, pretty much every cab system in every city in the USA, and most places I've ever travelled to abroad.
The "we're looking out for the little guy" argument described by GLover was probably the stupidest part of the taxi drivers' campaign to avoid meters. They kept saying it was actually cheaper for passengers under the zone system. OK, then it must be great for you, taxi driver, that we're switching to a system wherein the customer will pay you more, right?
Of course, the best part will be when it ends up costing the cabbies four times to retrofit their cabs with the new GPS-Zone meters compared with the time/distance meter used by, oh geez, pretty much every cab system in every city in the USA, and most places I've ever travelled to abroad.
From what I've heard, the zone meters are supposed to cost about the same amount as a time and distance meter, and come with a credit card reader built in. (This is a big reason why I like the sound of the zone meter, actually.)
A lot of the reasons that people give for the cabbies' opposition to the time and distance meter just don't work when you take into their account their support for the zone meter. I personally think the cabbies' resistance is a mixture of a lot of things, with fear of change up there, but a big part of it is the worry that meters will cost them business from their regular price-sensitive riders (who like them) without generating enough new business from price-insensitive riders (who hate them and wish they would die) to make up for the loss.
I took a cab to one of Christmas party about two weeks ago and got into a dispute with the driver about the state of public opinion on this issue. He said most DC residents didn't want the meter-system and liked the zone system. I told him he was wrong and wanted to know what opinion poll he was getting his information. It went downhill from there.
MS,
I actually swiped a copy of the Zogby poll in question back when it came out. The poll asked District residents which they preferred: time and distance meters, zone meters, or the current zone system. The results were pretty close to an even three-way split, with time and distance meters narrowly in the lead and the current system bringing up the rear.
So no matter what side you're on, you can argue that the poll supports you. You say you want to keep zones? So do almost two-thirds of District residents. You say you want meters? So do more than two-thirds of District residents. Want zone meters? You're a hair short of a plurality, but if the issue were to be decided by instant runoff voting it's pretty clear you'd score a smashing victory in the second round.