Photo by andertho.

With the federal government shutdown commotion, it’s easy to forget that today is the deadline for D.C. cab drivers to have credit card readers installed.

But it is today and, according to a payment service provider report from Friday, an estimated 84 percent of cabs have readers at the moment. That translates to just over 5,500 cabs in the 7,000 vehicle fleet.

Last week, a group of cabbies organized by DC Drivers United for Equal Rights requested a third extension from the D.C. Taxicab Commission, saying there were numerous issues with the PSP installation process. DCTC, in turn, said it would review “the specific hardship circumstances provided only through DC Drivers United for Equal Rights to determine if any relief would be warranted.” As of today, no extensions were granted.

“Less than 200 drivers submitted requests for relief; thus no extensions were granted,” Neville Waters, spokesman for the DCTC, said. “It is expected that there is ample capacity to install MTS [modern taximeter systems] in their vehicles by the end of the week.”

According to last week’s progress report, five of the eight approved PSPs have excess capacity to install meters. Any cab that doesn’t have a working reader installed by today will be impounded, as the DCTC has said numerous times.

If you plan to take a cab ride this week, let DCist know how it went by emailing tips@dcist.com