Thanks to the new meters, many of the complaints about cabs in D.C. have been erased: at least there’s no debate about the fare. However, that doesn’t mean it’s all hunky-dory. The other day, I was taking a cab from Columbia Heights to downtown, and the cab was a disaster area.

One of the Yellow Cabs, it sounded like it was coming apart during the drive, with shakes and rattles and other funny noises that cars shouldn’t make — it felt like the car would collapse, Blues Brothers car chase style. And then when we got to the destination, the driver told me the door handle was broken, so he rolled down the window for me to reach out and open the door from outside. Pretty funny, and kind of contrary to the Passengers’ Rights posted in the cab. I got the cab number and emailed the DC Taxicab Commission, who a week ago sent me an auto-reply that they’d received my complaint.

This was the first really crappy cab I’ve taken in D.C., and I’ve had some cool ones — the Hummer cab, the PT Cruiser, the guy who has a candy dish behind the passengers’ seat. Has anyone else had this kind of experience? Had any luck with the Taxicab Commission?