Our Morning Roundup
The Post reports cab drivers plan on launching the first of many strikes today. Not much of a surprise tactic against the inevitable transition to meters.
Prince of Petworth on the worst popup development ever.
Penn Quarter Living spots an SUV that has parked illegally in front of FBI headquarters.
The Post reports Sen. Arlen Specter plans on investigating Spygate.
10:34 am
i saw no cabs today while waiting for the bus near 16th & U, and a couple that was also waiting asked aloud "What, are the cabs on strike today?"
For what they're worth, the cabbies' efforts aren't going unnoticed.
2:25 am
Why Cab Drivers Are Striking In Washington, DC
In this article I try to provide a cab driver’s point of view and position in the hope of finding a middle ground for all those involved, but it is more directed to the District residents and officials. Before a problem can be solved it is necessary to identify the cause of that problem. The cause for concern in the area taxi cab industry can be classified in three major parts:
• The first problem is that it is no secret there is a lot of intrusion in District internal affairs from Congress and the surrounding jurisdictions despite the fact that DC has come a long way towards home rule.
• The second problem is the hidden agenda of monopolizing a local cab industry and driving the little independent guys out of business.
• Third, there is a misunderstanding about the zone system and how it fits into the nature, function and layout of the city.
From what I understand, after a staff member for a ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, Senator Carl Levin (D) of Michigan, had an argument with a driver over a fare, the senator, himself a former cab driver, forced the city to decide by the middle of November 2007 to require meters in cabs. Of course Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham rightly called it an “intrusion in our internal affairs.” Despite Councilman Graham's outrage, facing a deadline imposed by Congress, Mayor Adrian Fenty opted to require that taxis in the nation's capital calculate fares using time and distance meters instead of the zone system The populist mayor Fenty proposed a drop rate for District riders of $4.00. Twenty-five cents more would be charged for each one-sixth of a mile. After considering public comments received during the period that ended January 8, mayor Fenty announced that the flag drop rate would be decreased from the originally proposed $4 to $3 and other charges would be eliminated.
The public was led to believe that drivers oppose meters because they want to charge whatever amount they want to charge, but this is not exactly true. Drivers have a real fear of a big national cab fleet take over, as we have seen in giveaways with our public lands in recent years.Time and distance meters will be the beginning of successfully monopolizing the local cab industry and drive the little independent guys out of business.
Those who argue for such meters act as if meters will solve all problems in the taxicab industry. However, distance and time meters also bring their own problems. The Mayor says he wants everything for Washington that New York has, forgetting that Washington,DC, is a unique city in many ways. To point out a few differences, DC has the most road closures among all American cities due to government activities, dignitaries and high security concerns which greatly affects traffic. With the current zone system, the driver may be forced to detour half way around the city, which does not affect the passenger's fare. Right now, with the zone system the drivers interest is to drop off a passenger as quickly as possible and pick up another passenger. This is a very important factor in a time sensitive city like DC where meeting goers are the most users of cabs during the day. With distance and time meters the driver will have no incentive to avoid congested streets. Dishonest drivers can go a long distance and still provide a receipt. In a meter cab system it is a constant argument as to which way the driver is going.
The human side of driving a taxi in the district:
The driver is just like any other person who is trying to make ends meat. He is not out there to overcharge or rip-off his passengers. What attracts people to have a taxicab business in DC is the spirit of owning an independent business and having flexible hours. Some babysit during the day and work at night. Some go to school. Others may come from another country and find it to be a perfect job as a transition to something better.
In most cases the contribution cab drivers make goes unreported. For example, when a British man was slain in Georgetown in July 2006, his girlfriend was helped by a passing cab driver. Not too long ago a friend of mine who is a cab driver found items worth many thousands of dollars and gave them back to the owner. The owner couldn’t believe that he had done so, and said this gave her a very good impression about our city .
About two years ago the writer of this article launched a web site called DCGOODSAMARITAN.COM for lost and found items in DC area taxicabs at no cost to the general public, because he felt sorry for the passengers who loose their items in taxicabs.This kind of effort has to be reported and encouraged by the media and the city, as cab drivers are front line ambassadors for our city. Instead, cab drivers are stereotyped because of a few repeat offenders.
When driving a taxi in DC, we currently get at least one or two abusive passengers per week, but we don’t generalize all passengers as abusive. I think generalization does not help in any way to make things better. The media can do a better job on this by learning from New York media outlets which, from time to time, cover some heroic and good deeds by cabbies that create harmony and good feelings in their city.
In talking to my passengers, many of them have no idea that the mayor eliminated additional fees for rush hour travel, additional passengers fee and the additional fare during a snow emergency of 25 percent. The Mayor also reduced the base rate from $4, to $3, with the per–mile and per-minute charges still the same from the November proposal.
This decision angered drivers, and caused division among them as whether to accept distance and time meters and fight the unfair decrease of their income or to fight for installing zone meters altogether.
This argument among drivers ended when D.C. Councilman Marion Barry announced that he wants to block the citywide distance and time meters which are set to start this April and replace them with zone-meter system that would preserve the zones but use the Global Positioning System to calculate the fares. Drivers came together more than ever under the coalition of DC Taxicab Association and companies. This association is working to pool resources and energy to defend the drivers' interest, educate the public, and represent drivers at all levels of decision making in the free enterprise system we have been enjoying for years. The first strike, which was held on Monday, was very successful and others strikes are planned to be staged once a week targeting downtown until our demand is met. The coalition is also setting up a site with a petition to collect signatures from DC residents in the hope to reverse the Mayor's decision. Hopefully all lawyers, association workers, public relations people, Capitol Hill staffers (cab drivers call them the "step on it" people) will sign the petition to install zone meters in DC taxicabs in order to enjoy their ride while the driver finds the best and quickest way to get them to their destination. They would be able to see their zone fare on the GPS system regardless how the driver gets there.
I hope this article enlightens our riders to know exactly what is at stake and come to the drivers' side to reverse Mayors Fenty’s plan to replace the current fare system with time and distance meters, set to take effect on April Fool's Day making it an April Fool’s joke.
Aleme Tadesse is a long time resident of Adams Morgan and has been driving taxi cab on and off for eight years .