Photo by andertho

Tomorrow, the D.C. Taxicab Commission will hear testimony both for and against a proposal to raise taxicab fare rates from $1.50 to $2.75 per mile. The proposal, which was floated by an independent cab operator in early November, could go into effect as early as next February — unless opponents of the plan have something to say about it.

And they do, it seems.

The agenda for the hearing has four proponents for the fare increases lined up against four doubters representing the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Business Improvement District, the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C. and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington. Additionally, the advocacy group D.C. Residents for Reasonable Taxi Fares will also be speaking out against the fare increases.

Generally speaking, though, it’s not outright opposition to the plan, but rather when fares should be increased which is at issue.

“[B]efore increasing the taxicab rate, D.C. should modernize its taxi fleet. The business community, and those that rely on tourism in this city, would prefer to see cabs that are the equal of those on the roads of other major tourism destination cities (such as New York). That means the ability to accept credit card payments, GPS maps and tourism information screens in the back seats of cabs, etc. D.C. cabs should also be cleaner and more up-to-date overall,” said Max Farrow, a spokesman for the D.C. Chamber of Commerce.

“These sorts of upgrades — basic things that can be done with modern technology — would help increase tourism and business travel to D.C., and make the taxi experience better for local passengers as well,” he added.

The Downtown Business Improvement District is pretty much on the same page.

“This is a great opportunity to look at the system as a whole,” said Karyn LeBlanc, the BID’s Director of Communications. “Are there ways to make it more efficient and a better system to use?” she asked, noting that improvements like credit cards payment options and a uniform color for all cabs could go a long ways.

That’s pretty much what Jack Jacobson, a Ward 2 advisory neighborhood commissioner and founder of D.C. Residents for Reasonable Taxi Fares, seems to think, according to an Examiner article on the proposed fare increases.

“Taxi riders aren’t ATM machines for cab drivers. We understand the economic issues that cab drivers are facing, but consumers face those same economic issues. Consumers do not deserve a rate increase without improvements to the system,” Jacobson said.

The debate over what should come first — fare increases or service improvements — won’t be an easy one, because both sides have good points. A recent Post analysis found that District taxicab drivers make less than their counterparts in 40 other cities. That being said, the District has a ton of cabs: 8,500 for the city’s 600,000 residents. (New York City has 13,000 cabs — and plenty of complaints about service, too.) Worse yet, what has made the situation so hard to navigate is a mutual distrust between many of the stakeholders. Many drivers don’t trust the commission, and many residents don’t trust the drivers.

Taxicab Commissioner Ron Linton has spoken in favor of an eight-point plan to improve taxicab service in the District, but he admitted that it may come at the expense of a surcharge on all fares. He has also worked to make the commission’s proceedings more open and transparent, posting notices and proposals online and making clear that he wants as many people to participate in whatever final decision is reached.

The hearing begins tomorrow at 10 a.m. in the Old Council Chambers at 441 Fourth Street NW.