The D.C. Taxi Fuel Surcharge Has Expired. Just So You Know.
Because I grew up in an Old World household where I routinely absorbed tales of the privation my ancestors suffered–the five-mile uphill walk to school, laundry lists of all the things I had as a kid that my elders had to slaughter a herd of sheep to even feel OK dreaming about–I tend to have a relatively un-American attitude toward a dollar. Which is to say, I can be a cheapskate at times. So, yes, I know I’m about to grouse about a dollar.
Last Thursday I took a cab after rush hour from the Metro Center Metro station to CP’s offices in Adams Morgan. At the end of the trip, the cabbie told me the fare was $9.80–$8.80 for crossing two zones, plus a $1 gas surcharge. I didn’t see anything posted in the cab about such a thing, and said so.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha,” said the cabbie, who then reassured me that there was indeed a gas surcharge.
I stiffed him on the tip. My ancestors could only dream of taking a cab to Adams Morgan one day.
I also dropped a line to the D.C. Taxi Commission, which today informed me that the latest gas surcharge expired weeks ago. “You are correct, the gas surcharge ended on September 19, 2007 @ 11:59 p.m.,” the anonymous respondent e-mailed me.
I thought about getting a snack from the vending machine to celebrate this small victory of fiscal rightitude, but they recently raised the prices to 80 cents.
6 Responses to “The D.C. Taxi Fuel Surcharge Has Expired. Just So You Know.”
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October 3rd, 2007 at 7:16 pm
I got into an argument with a taxi driver about this just the other day! I want a letter from the city to carry around or something.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I don’t know how many cabs I’ve taken since then. None of the drivers said anything, of course. What a bunch of crooks.
October 4th, 2007 at 2:16 am
I too have taken a bunch of cabs since then. In fact, almost everyday since the surcharge expired. I also keep paying the surcharge. The difference being, I READ the notice that is in every taxicab and noted the expiration date. I challenge anyone to do the job these folks do and not want that extra dollar - have YOU stopped paying more at the pumps? Wanna name crooks take a look down Penn Ave.?
October 4th, 2007 at 9:01 am
Actually, we’ve ALL stopped paying more at the pump. The price of gas has stabilized (and actually gone down a few times) over the past few months, and it will continue to get cheaper as we head into the lower-demand driving season.
Wanting the extra dollar and deserving it are two very different things. I would love to be able to earn more just because I want it, but it doesn’t work that way.
If the surcharge has expired, then the surcharge has expired. And I’m more inclined to be generous with a tip to a cabbie who informs me than one who sits there quietly and waits to see if I’ll notice.
Thanks for the heads-up, Mark.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:52 am
[...] PSA about the taxi [...]
October 4th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Print this out and show it to drivers to “remind” them that the gas surcharge expired on September 19th:
http://newsroom.dc.gov/show.aspx/agency/dctaxi/section/2/release/11165/year/2007