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Perhaps it was WTOP's reporting that did it — they seem to think so. Or maybe the D.C. Taxicab Commission spent some time reading your comments and noticed that they haven't got a lot of fans these days. Either way, the $1 fuel surcharge will disappear starting at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.
Don't get too excited about cheaper cab fares, though. As we wrote about yesterday, it's looking like metered cab rates will be raised soon, as recommended by a recent report from a 13-member taxicab task force, effectively making up the gas surcharge difference. The Post has a little more on that subject today, including an (albeit vague) answer to the question that's been in the back of our minds all this time: where is Mayor Fenty on all this? The man who managed to shove meters down the taxi drivers' throats has been noticeably silent on the issue of the fuel surcharge and the recommendation to raise the hourly meter rate. Here's what his spokesperson had to say:
"It is important to balance the economic concerns of the taxi drivers and their passengers. We encourage the Taxicab Commission to consider all of the recommendations from the task force and make a decision that will address the needs of both groups."Sounds like Mayor Fenty doesn't plan to take a leadership role on this issue, which is really a shame. If our comments are any indication of voter sentiment, the mayor could stand to reap a lot of re-election support if he could figure out a way to force the Taxicab Commission to be more accountable and transparent.
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"It is important to balance the economic concerns of the taxi drivers and their passengers.
The concerns of the unskilled labor that drives the cabs should be of no concern to the city or the commission. The taxicab system IS NOT A JOBS PROGRAM FOR UNSKILLED WORKERS!
I betcha' the D.C. Taxicab Commission was forced to eat quiche until they rescinded the Fuel Surcharge.
Sommer: "Sounds like Mayor Fenty doesn't plan to take a leadership role on this issue, which is really a shame"
Actually, he's doing the right thing with this by NOT micromanaging a city agency in public. He's letting the taxicab commission do what it's suposed to do-- handle taxicab issues. That doesn't equate to not taking a leadership role.
Fenty has publicly micromanaged (and allowed citizens to micromanage) other agencies, i.e. the police department. And, well, we see how well that's worked.
you really think there are one-issue voters that make cab fares their issue?
It's clear fom Hillvada's comment above that he/she hasn't talked to too many cab drivers. Although I rarely have a need to take a cab, I try to chat with the driver when I do hire one. Rather than being "unskilled labor" a described above, quite a few are highly educated persons (scientists engineers) from foreign countries who couldn't find a better job right after moving to the States.
The last driver I rode with turned out to have a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Univ. of Illinois - Chicago.
Ha! They got BUSTED BIG TIME! Who they fooling?
Ha! There goes their stairway to Heaven or should I say....Goodbye yellow brick road.
deesee, I used to be a doctor during the week, a rocket scientist on Thursday and Friday afternoons, and dabble in large micro-physics projects on the weekends.
But I drive a cab right now cause I'm looking for a different job.
My former occupation was leader of a small country in Eastern Europe. But I got tired of all that and moved here to run my own hot dog stand.
Ok, in all seriousness (and before everybody flips out), deesee is right- I have met lots of interesting cab drivers.
It's a shame that the crappy ones screw the feeling for the rest of 'em.
Mea culpa, deesee, for my earlier post - I met one cab driver who was putting three kids through college. He was the nicest man.
I personally built the MIR space station, but then got tired of all the press, so I moved to Sterling and now drive airport shuttles.
"He's letting the taxicab commission do what it's suposed to do-- handle taxicab issues. That doesn't equate to not taking a leadership role."
That'd be fine if the taxicab commission actually had the best interest of residents at heart. But they clearly don't. They exist for one reason - to protect the interests of existing DC cab companies to the detriment of us actually having a decent cab fleet.
Various versions of this commission have existed for decades. And for decades we've had one of the worst, most decrepit cab fleets in the nation.
Reid had a nice summary of their 'report' on this topic yesterday.
I don't think Mayor Fenty realizes how much this issue pisses off so many.
A DC cabdriver ate my parents.
Wizzyliz, are you following me around...?
Michelle Rhee ate my kids!
I would be interested in seeing an updated version of this table:
http://www.schallerconsult.com/taxi/fares1.htm
Of particular interest is the note that NYC and Chicago can sustain lower fares because of the high demand for taxi service. I remember hearing anecdotal evidence when the meter switch was about to occur that suggested DC taxi fares would be higher than comparable cities. It would be interesting to see how that panned out, especially in light of the recent consideration of fare hikes.
The problem with these fare hikes in DC is that trips are often lengthened by gridlock and street closures for motorcades and the like. It would be nice to see DC implement a comprehensive traffic control plan, with the coordination of the taxicab commission, urban planners, and other appropriate civil committees, along with "don't block the box" penalties like points and fines.
Another concern with the fare hikes is that they continue to allow cab drivers to be more selective with their pick-ups. I don't know a single person who hasn't been refused a ride by a cab driver simply because the driver didn't want to take them to a specific neighborhood or across the river, which is illegal. If every fare mattered, perhaps they'd be less inclined to deny riders.
Personally I don't think its a big deal that the Mayor is giving this issue a back seat. The way I see it is if the commission decides to raise rates, the customers have the option to use another mode of transportation. Noting speaks louder to a service provider than customers that turn their back on them!
no_more_caffeine - is it that obvious?
Here's a reprint of my screed on this topic from yesterday:
Oh. My. Lord.
If you have any concerns about having a low blood pressure or just need a good reason to break stuff, please actually read the report they issued.
It is one, hughmongous pile of horse sh*t. Even by DC government standards, this is awful. It's basic point is this "Everything cabbies want, we think they should get. They should not be forced to do anything different."
If it were written by a PR firm hired by a cab company, it wouldn't look any different.
Here are some highlights:
-It doesn't recommend raising the standards of cabs, including the pathetic requirement that cabs can be up to 10 years old. Why? Because "until such time that cab companies can acumulate some equity for investing in the industry it would be not be economically feasible to raise the vehicle standards" W. T. F? Keep in mind that Diamond Cab is so old that you can see one in the film The Day the Earth Stood Still. But, hopefully another 50 years will give them "some equity" to buy some new cars!
-Like the fact that all NYC cabs are yellow? Too bad, the report says it's more important to allow cab companies to brand themselves.
-Like the fact that a light tells you when a NYC cab is empty? Well tough luck; the report doesn't recommend changing anything on that front except to let the cabbies turn the light off when they're off duty, but only if they feel like it.
-Think a medalion system raises the standards? Maybe the task force does too, but they're not recommending it here. Because "the open system has served drivers and the public well"! Maybe!
-Like that cabs aren't able to pick up strangers anymore? Well the task force doesn't, and recommends giving cabbies that ability again if the meters can be made to keep two fees.
-The task force recommends getting rid of the fare cap (ok, whatever), hiking up the wait time, hiking up the per mile, and getting rid of the gas surcharge (but only so that the gas charge can be then factored into the mileage rate). What's the reason? Well because they can find a jurisdiction somewhere that allows more on any of these rates, all of the rates must be higher. Sorta a highest common denominator approach. Oh and all those other bullsh*t surcharges? The report doesn't even mention them. Arthur Anderson couldn't have come up with more fraudulent and misleading accounting.
-Like getting the name of your taxi driver on your receipt? Too bad. All you'll get is the car number.
-Oh and as for the makeup of the task force, you should not be surprised that 8 of the 13 are in the taxicab or limo business. Of the others, one works for the African Resource Center (i.e. cab booster). Two are in the hospitality business, whose interests are not directly inline with the cabbies, but they're not directly inline with the public's either. And finally, one guy representing disabled rights. That's it. Somehow three of those people are supposed to represent "the public". Presumably the handicap rights fellow is one. Probably the African Resource Center guy is another (but you know who he's looking out for). I guess maybe one of the hospitality people are the third "public" representatives. Jesus, even Putin knows how to make a white wash look less stacked than this.
This whole report is disgusting.
To be fair, the commission did strike down the clause that stated, "Drivers are allowed to fingerbang customers." They did, however, replaced "fingerbang" with "pee on the luggage of." If that isn't a victory for customer service, I don't know what is.
uh, in this economy, i'll be taking metro, the bus, or legging it.
Really? I coulda' sworn the driver asked about a fee for my luggage. Ah haa ... now it makes sense. I was wondering why my FlightPro4 suitcase was a little moist.
Reid...you failed to mention that Jim Graham was also on this task force...just like he's on the WMATA board...a man who does not use public transit...EVER (just ask him) and drives his car and illegally parks it everywhere, is dictating how our public (and cab) transit is run...awesome.
Again this morning, I waited 35 minutes for a no.30 bus going to the Hill. Three Archive buses passed us by. What a waste. Too poor to get ripped off by a cabbie. Can't walk too far with my gamy leg either.
What's a man to do?
Try asking people at random for twenty-three cents to get on the Metro. I did this one summer and cleared over $30k tax-free. Blew it all on coke and hookers partying on Ibiza with The Verve and Stone Roses. Good times.
@deesee: The last driver I rode with turned out to have a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Univ. of Illinois - Chicago.
Totally a party cab driving college. A serious cabbie has at least an Ivy League post doc, not to mention an article in a peer reviewed journal. Publish or perish.
deep: i don't know, maybe you could start by having a better ratio of comments that make sense to overall output.
@Deep: you could always take one of the Archives buses to Farragut West and get on the Orange or Blue line. Just an idea.
I'm OK! I can fly! Weeeeeee!
The last time I took a cab, the driver turned out to have so many advanced degrees that he made me drive him around.
What's needed is data on what cab drivers (and cab companies) actually make under the current fare system and some way to reasonably estimate what they would make under any changed system. It's in the interest of the public for cab fares to be kept low, but it's also in our interest to ensure that cabbies can make a living that's attractive enough that we'll have the number of cabs we need on the street. And they also need to make enough to keep their cabs up to whatever standards the city imposes -- which I agree need to be improved considerably.
I remember visiting Mexico City and noticing how nice, clean, and new the cab at the airport was compared to what I am used to in DC. I really don't think DC cabbies are poorer than Mexico City ones...
@abefroman329 - I've been laughing for 10 minutes at your comment. Reductio ad absurdum or whatever.
Reid:
Your fine summary of the Taxicab Commission report inspired me to actually read the report.
I have to agree. It's a sham.
It should have been titled "Report to Encourage Protection of Crappy Cabs Forever"
In addition to the points you raised, here's a very important one...
"6.2.1: The Task Force recommends and supports the current temporary moratorium on
licensing of new taxicab companies and associations."
This is possibly the worst part of the report.
We have a ton of very crappy cab companies in DC. And current law prohibits any new ones from starting.
So we artificially limit the competition. This pretty much guarantees that we are stuck with the same crappy quality we have now.
I've wondered why some of the suburban cab companies, with their much nicer fleets, didn't try to work in DC. I didn't realize it was because they aren't allowed to.