And it was just beginning to look like the hopes and dreams of District bloggers and commenters everywhere were going to come true. Yesterday, the Examiner reported that the D.C. Taxicab Commission would release a report in the next few weeks expected to support ditching D.C.’s zone system in favor of regular old meters. The six-month study was conducted by George Washington University and pulls data from over 30,000 cab rides, comparing metered and zoned fares along similar routes.

Many welcomed this news as long overdue – this debate has been ongoing for more than 75 years, beginning with a list of 20 reasons why meters are better than zones released by city officials in 1931. It is also widely considered to be a no-brainer, since D.C. receives a notably larger number of complaints than other cities, mostly due to overcharging and refusing fares.

We aren’t sure about you, but it certainly took us a while to figure the zones out. And we have definitely run into drivers who refuse to take us anywhere outside the city. However, today, the Examiner brings us another side of the story. Turns out some taxi drivers consider this to be the beginning of a brutal coup d’etat that would grab hold of the entire taxicab network and hand it over to The Man. Reads the article:

Emmett Clark, chair of the nearly 500-member D.C. Professional Taxicab Drivers Association, said the current push to switch to meters is the first step toward a government “takeover” in order to hand control of the taxi system to corporate interests…Switching to meters is only a small fraction of an overall effort to end free enterprise in this city.”

Whoa. Where did this come from (and how do the city’s thousands of other hacks feel)? Who knew this was part of a vast takings conspiracy unrivaled since Kelo vs. City of New London? Until we see the tanks rolling over unmetered cabs on 14th Street and cabbies being forcibly relieved of duty, we’re willing to give the meters a try.