Tomorrow, Mayor Fenty has to make a decision between keeping the existing crappy zone system for taxis or requiring them to begin using meters like they do in every other major city. If he fails to make a decision, legislation by Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) will make the choice for him and require meters to be installed in all cabs.
According to the Washington Post, “81 percent of frequent riders rated the city’s cabs as fair or poor” and are generally in favor of doing away with the zone system. It’s hard to argue with those numbers, but it’s easy to argue with a cab driver when he says a 5 minute trip will cost you $13 because it’s rush hour and there is a gas surcharge and the moon is full.
As you have probably guessed, I’m also in favor of installing meters in cabs. Sure, it won’t always work out in your favor, but at least you know you’re being treated fairly and the driver isn’t picking a fare out of thin air. The drivers of course are protesting this change because they’ll more than likely see a decline in income, but I say welcome to the real world where you have to play by the rules.
If anyone has any arguments for the zone system I’d love to hear them, but in my opinion, Fenty has an easy decision to make.
Photo by zeul
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
