The Washingtonian’s View

Zones are dead!

The District of Columbia’s taxicab drivers have to learn to accept change. City administrators last year voted to do-away with the embattled zone system and have time-distance meters installed all cabs in the district. This decision has been spearheaded by D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty.

Fenty has been an open critic of the zone system since he has stepped into office two years ago.

The mayor’s decision has eliminated the current flat-rate system, which is based on a map of zones, with the fare determined by the number of zones driven through.

Under the zone system, which Congress established during the Depression, fares are determined based on a map of 23 zones, a downtown core with 22 other sections radiating outward. The fare is based on how many zones the taxi travels through to get to its destination.

Prior to this, the District of Columbia had been the only major city in the country without meters in its cabs. Fenty may have been the primary D.C. official to spearhead this; but it was a provision written by U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat and a long-time proponent of switching to meters.

Like many people, Levin described repeatedly being charged different fares for the same trip.

Fenty believes accepting the new system will make Washington more competitive among popular cities its size. And also be less confusing.

Residents and visitors to the city have long complained that the system is confusing and vulnerable to cheating.

“Visitors can now come into our city without the confusion they have experienced in the past with the zone system,” said Mayor Fenty.

As of yesterday the new rule went into effect.

Since May 1, the city has been issuing warnings to those taxis that have not made the conversion. Now, if a cab is caught not making the conversion, it will be fined $1,000.

Inspectors for the D.C. Taxicab Commission canvassed the city last week checking to see if cabs that had the new meters were using them.

Nathaniel Catlett was one of the taxi drivers who were stopped. He had a meter in, but it wasn’t working yet. “Because the meter was already in place, I was ok. I think they understood by me having a yellow cab and the meter being in place, it’s just a matter of making adjustments as opposed to no meter at all,” he said.

Many drivers had been waiting to purchase meters while legal challenges to the switch were pending, but the District of Columbia Court of Appeals refused to delay the city’s switch from the zone system.

Some drivers reported problems installing the devices and a long wait list.

Cab drivers have long opposed the switch, saying the fares are too low. The head of one cab company, who wished to not be identified, said last week that the decision would lead to a loss of business and hoped the cab drivers revolted daily until they got their way.

Residents around the area have mixed feelings about the time-metered system than the zone system.

A resident in Bowie MD remarked, “So they get fined – like they have the money to pay a fine! Most of them don’t look like they have 2 nickels to rub together. I remember when driving a cab was a respected job. I always remember the gentleman who lived up the street from us and drove the Diamond cab. He always wore jacket, tie, etc and cleaned his cab every day before he left for work. Pride in one’s work and appearance has gone the way of many good things.”

A Baltimore, MD resident said, “What they are doing is trying to squeeze the last bit of money out of folks by doing this. Because now the only way they can really make money is to take the longer trips. Even if it means going the long way on short trips.”

Longtime D.C. resident, Tammy Robinson, said she was used to the zone system and she found it consistent. She was also anxious to take her first ride in a metered cab. “I think it will probably be a little less expensive, I do, I don’t have that far to go,” she said.

Mary Strain, a New York City resident who makes frequent business trips to D.C., said, “It’s a pain in the neck if you’re only going a few blocks. And if you don’t know the city, you don’t know where the zone boundaries are.”

And a Washington, D.C. resident said, “The city should impound the violators taxi and have it towed to a shop that installs the meters. The cabbie could then be forced to comply with the law or forfeit the cab.”

Bill Hanbury, president of the Washington, D.C., Convention and Tourism Corp., said, “Switching to meters would make the city a better destination. To ensure the success of the city, we believe that we need a strong taxicab industry, because they are the front line ambassadors that our visitors meet.”

There are still over 1000 believed to have not complied with the new order.

One cab driver, Jerry Carroll, says there is a lot of confusion about the new system and a serious shortage of meters.

“We only got like 20 meters in with the attachment that we have, so it’s going to be a while before we get them in. I doubt we’re going to get them in this month,” he said.

Members of the taxi cab community are greatly disappointed by the time-distance metered system. “We’re extremely disappointed in the decision,” said Roy Spooner, general manager of Yellow Cab Co. of D.C. “We do not believe it is in the best interest of residents or drivers.”

Last year, Yellow Cab had offered the city a third option — a “zone meter.” They outfitted 100 of its cabs with a zone-fare calculator that uses Global Positioning Systems to track movement between zones and provides the customer with a detailed receipt.

“We agree that you should meter taxis, that’s why we developed that technology,” Spooner said. “But when you go to time-and-distance in a city that is prone to gridlock and traffic congestion, the people who live further away will pay more money,” causing the industry to lose ridership.

Spooner said that while cab drivers will go along with the change and continue to provide service, many felt slighted by the mayor’s process.

“We developed the zone meter to give the city an alternative to solve their zone problem, and he completely ignored it,” he said.

Some cab drivers approve of the change.

“We need the new system. Those cab drivers that don’t like it are the ones that are cheating the public. I am actually making more money using the new system,” said one cab driver.

Another said, “I am not a fan of the system; but if it ensures that the people that comes to the city is treated fairly, then I am all for it. We need something in place to make sure we are respecting our jobs. I am a Muslim and as a good Muslim, I should want to do the right thing and not cheat my riders.”

The mayor said he chose to go with the meter system because a majority of residents in the District prefer them to zoning systems, according to a poll by the D.C. Taxi Cab Commission. Of those polled, 57 percent said they preferred meters.

Since 1933, the zone system has been the way cab fares have been determined.

Related Articles:

· May 21, 2008: Yellow Cab Won’t Be Ready For Switch To Meters

· May 8, 2008: Riding The School Bus Is As Safe As Ever

· April 11, 2008: Few D.C. Taxis Ready As Meter Deadline Looms

· October 31, 2007: Taxi Drivers On Strike In D.C.

· October 30, 2007: Threatened Taxicab Strike Looms