Our rendering of what the cabs could look like. Note: rendering isn’t at all what cabs will look like.

At some point in the future, all of the city’s 6,500 taxicab may be painted a single color. If the D.C. Taxicab Commission gets its way, it’ll be red. But if D.C. voting rights organization D.C. Vote gets its way, cabs won’t only be red, but they’ll also prominently display the city’s protest motto, “Taxation Without Representation.”

Jon Bouker, chairman of the group’s board, requested as much in a letter sent earlier this week to Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), who leads the D.C. Council’s Transportation and authored the legislation that led to the uniform color mandate:

DC Vote has followed with great interest the efforts to settle on a paint scheme for new DC taxicabs. Much of the discussion has centered on how to make our taxicab fleet something that is distinctly DC.

The choice of red as the primary color is consistent with our flag and with many of our other symbols. We believe this also presents an obvious opportunity to educate the wider public about the lack of full democracy that continues to be the most distinctive feature of our local political reality.

DC Vote requests that the Mayor and DC Council, in consultation with the DC Taxicab Commission, adopt language that would appear on every DC taxicab that coveys the political fact of our second class status. We recommend that “Taxation Without Representation” be placed somewhere prominently on our cabs.

DC Vote believes this would be a simple, but prominent addition to our continuous effort to educate the public about our struggle. It is our understanding that such an addition to the taxicab requirements would be difficult if not impossible to undertake through the Commission.

A final decision on a uniform color scheme will be made in the coming months, but it’ll still be a while before of the city’s cabs have to comply.