i haven't yet has that issue happen to me but i'll let you know if/when it does.

the problem i've experienced is a cabbie's refusal to drive from DC to virginia. a couple of weeks ago a friend and i were on U street and three cabs refused to take us to crystal city before one finally did. i understand that they aren't making as much money taking people to VA as they were before the meter switch, but isn't refusal to give someone a ride against the rules? what if we were having an emergency?

The rules per the drop off and the scandalously high drop rates disgust me.

THIS CITY NEEDS MEDALLIONS. NOW.

"We've gone from horse and buggies to space ships, as far I'm concerned, in 30 days."

Hilarious quote given that taximeters represent cutting-edge technology...for the 19th century.

From no less a source than Wikipedia: "The modern taximeter was invented by German Wilhelm Bruhn in 1891, and the Daimler Victoria—the world's first meter-equipped (and gasoline-powered) taxicab—was built by Gottlieb Daimler in 1897."

so why is it then anytime i travel from union station to my house, i have a different trip and cost every time? my average meter cost should be around 6.00 and i have been charged up to 8.50 for these rides. not to mention that extra quarter they always seem to tack on at the end of the trip.

who is regulating the 'long drivers' - the ones who nickel and dime you by taking a different route? this happens often with me, and there is nothing i can do about it.

Another thing NYC cabs have that DC cabs don't is flat rates to JFK or LaGuardia. Maybe that's the answer for the driver making $20 less to drive to Dulles.

On the bag charges - I had a friend who was sharing a cab with two other friends, and they each were charged for putting their bags in the trunk of the cab. Is that correct? An extra fee per bag?

Whatever the system, there's a way to game the system, I guess.

iAManugget, the cab would have to take you over a mile and a half out of your way to rack up an extra $2.50 fare over what it should be. Surely you would notice?

Bigger chance it's all those crazy fees. An extra $2.00 for each "large" piece of luggage? And I assume anything larger than a handbag is considered large?

As to the sharing a cab issue -- assuming my friend and I live within two miles of each other, it's still cheaper to each pay the full fare on the meter system than it was on the zone system -- within a mile, the second fare would be less than $5.50. Between 1-2 miles, the second fare would be between $5.50 and $7.00. Still cheaper than the base $7.50 charge under the zone system.

so why is it then anytime i travel from union station to my house, i have a different trip and cost every time? ... who is regulating the 'long drivers' - the ones who nickel and dime you by taking a different route? this happens often with me, and there is nothing i can do about it.

This happens in every city in the galaxy that has or does not have taxi meters, medallions, and regulatory bodies. You have two choices: be that person who dictates to the driver the precise route they are to take, or suck it up and get over it.

I refused to take cabs under the zone system, and I still refuse to take cabs even after the introduction of meters. The BS fees (extra passenger, bag fee, etc.) are just bogus.

But my big problem is most cabbies act like they're still under the zone system. They expect you to pay them exactly the same amount you would have paid for the same exact ride under the zones. They are SHADY.

Case in point: I live exactly 1.6 miles from my favorite hangout in the city. I have always walked or taken the bus because I lived across a zone line, which meant my ride home was 8.80 under the zone system. Under the meter system, it should be about $5. But I get into the cabs and they (1) "forget" to turn the meter on, to which I offer to tell them how much the trip should cost, (2) turn the meter on with some bogus flag drop rate ($3.75) and/or (3) drive around some backassed way to get from point A to point B. The whole time they like to tell me a sob story about how they make so much less under the new system. When I respond, "I'm from NYC, I don't hear your criticism. We should stop discussing this. I don't think I should have to pay you more than $5 to drive me one mile," I am told to "Get the fuck out of my cab your rich bitch!"

Again, I will not take cabs in this city unless it's an emergency AND I have no other choice.

I know I wrote in to protest the extra passenger fee, not that it did any good. It really roils me after a recent trip to Manhattan. A trip from the East Village to midtown NYC cost me and a friend $7.

A recent trip from K and 18th to P and 22nd with a work colleague cost $8.50. And it wasn't rush hour.

"I still have the right to pick up another passenger against your wishes."

I thought the new system did away with that.

But otherwise your post is right on target. We really should model ourselves on taxi service in NYC. Their entire system is so much better than ours.

I'd like to think the change to meters was just the first step. But,sadly, I'm a bit cynical on this one. DC officials don't think of the cab system as part of public transportation. Instead, they think of it as a make-work program for immigrants and others without marketable job skills. As long as that's the mindset, don't expect much improvement.

The taxi situation in DC is truly bad. I, like many others, will use a cab strictly in cases of emergency. I haven't set foot in a cab for years, even though for most of my time here I haven't even owned a car. The meters have changed nothing. DC cabbies are largely just a bunch of shady bastards, often nasty as well. Just last week, I came upon a cabbie who was yelling threateningly at a middle-aged female. The cabbie was telling her how stupid she was, and that she was trying to rip him off, although she had paid the full amount due, and still had to walk to her destination. It was positively scary, and I acted as a guard for her. I was ready to fight, and almost had to, when he started yelling at me, even though I had not said a word. The only way to punish this industry is complete boycott. They sure as hell deserve it.

MSto: If you can, get in the cab first. Some cabbies keep their doors locked (in part as a safety measure, I'm sure, but also in part to keep out unwanted fares), but some don't. Once you're inside, if they refuse to take you, stay put, call the cops, and report the driver. Passengers have rights, including the right to "[b]e driven to any destination in the Washington Metropolitan Area" (emphasis mine), but not enough passengers call shenanigans when their rights are violated.

@guy incognito: i was actually asking a question as to who REALLY regulates fair fare?

i was just using my story as an example. clearly im sucking it up if im not negotiating and haggling w/ the cabbie.

I still think Cab Drivers are mean, meter or not. I had a cab driver eat pinto beans and rice and cuss me the whole of five blocks while I was trying not to have a seizure in the back seat.

I couldn't talk asshole, why do you think I was pointing?

But hey, seven bucks is cheaper than $700 for an ambulance.

CHRIST HOLY SCHNAZ!

I am keeping my receipts! Who knew they had human beings working at the DCCC?

Useful info here, thanks! What do you need other than the receipt to lodge a complaint? (The receipt doesn't have the cab name and number, date and time, etc., on it, right?)

I haven't seen the "new rules" yet in a cab (I've taken a few rides since the meters, but they still have the zone map up!) so here's a link to it: http://dctaxi.dc.gov/dctaxi/frames.asp?doc=/dctaxi/lib/dctaxi/MeterZ.pdf

RE: the question about shared rides: (and the rules say specifically only shared rides from Union Station.) I recently took the train back from NYC (where, yes, the taxi system is so much better than here, it was like heaven), and a cab driver at Union Station packed four of us in, for three stops. He left the meter on the whole time and charged each of us whatever the meter said when we were dropped off! We were the last off, and we paid, I think, about what we would have if we'd had the cab to ourselves, so I don't think any of us were really screwed, although we had to deal with the crowding and the extra time to drop others off. But boy the driver made out like a bandit, something like $7 to Shaw, another $9 or whatever to DuPont, and then another $12 or something to Adams Morgan (I'm not really remembering locations or fares exactly). He also almost drove away while one rider still had his bags in the trunk.... And *then* at the end he told us he wouldn't charge us for the extra passenger or the bags, like he was being so generous. He made a killing.

Where are the official rules about shared rides? So we can print them out to show a driver next time ;)

What really bothers me about this whole thing is that the rules are very unclear and there's not really much you can do at the moment, except not tip (for example, when I got charged the bag fee, even though I didn't put it in the trunk). I guess if I used cabs more, I'd carry around the rules. But like a lot of you are saying, I don't see why it can't be more transparent.

For those of you pining for a medallion system similar to NYC, bear in mind that the $600,000 taxi companies have to pay for each medallion to operate one taxi gets passed on to taxi riders in the form of higher fares. I know that NYC taxis are still cheaper than DC taxis but think about how much less expensive NYC taxis would be if they didn't have to pay $600,000 up front just to get an operating license.

Btw, that $600,000 doesn't go to the city of NYC, it goes to the bastards lucky enough to get a medallion for FREE when NYC was originally handing them out. Or someone who paid an equivalent amount of money for theirs.