Photo by Holon Photo.

It’s been months since the idea was first announced, but D.C. Taxicab Commission Chair Ron Linton today made official his intention to scrap the $19 fare cap on taxicab rides within the city.

In an order in the D.C. Register, the commission announced that the cap would be lifted within the next two weeks, fulfilling a promise that was made by Mayor Vince Gray in February. Linton used authority granted to him in July by Gray to single-handedly set taxicab fares, but in a D.C. Council committee hearing earlier this week, he said that the fare cap repeal would be the last time he acted unilaterally to determine what we pay for taxicab rides. Broader fare increases are expected, though Linton admitted that no clear mechanism yet exists to determine what fares are fair to drivers and passengers.

Gray has outlined an eight-point plan to improve the District’s 8,500 taxicabs, but any such advances may cost riders in the form of a surcharge on fares.