Had a rather good run the last few months not talking about taxi drivers. After the implementation of the metered fare system last summer, all seemed well on the taxi front. The fare seemed, well, fair. Customers like never have to worry about walking the extra few blocks to get out of a zone or being overcharged if they didn't know about the zones. The drivers contend that they're losing up to 30% of their pre-meter weekly income. But Jim Graham says there are as many as 300 new taxi drivers registering per month. I have no idea if that's true. If there are so many new drivers becoming licensed there must be some money to be made. And if I were a driver, I'd want less drivers getting licenses, because that would dilute the product. But moving on...The whole DC taxicab industry seems sleazy and corrupt, from the drivers gaming the old zone system to the recent FBI probe of an official in Graham's office over taking a bribe on behalf of taxi legislation. Taxi drivers were incensed over the bill which would add another layer of regulation to the registration part of the business. A move that could eventually limit the number of cabs through medallions or another identifying marker. They had planned a strike for last Tuesday, which apparently was carried out.
This weekend, there is talk of another strike, this time in Graham's district, Ward One. Taxi drivers are planning to boycott Adams Morgan on late-night Friday and late-night Saturday. The "service blackout" could encompass the area from 16th Street to Connecticut Avenue and Florida Avenue to the Duke Ellington Bridge. Basically all of Adams Morgan, especially the 18th Street strip. I guess it's an effective strategy?! Or not really, considering the only people left without a ride those nights will most likely be people who don't live in Ward One.
Somehow, I don't think this will work. But just in case they somehow pull this off, all you folks who haven't mastered the mass transit route back to your place of residence better brush up on it. Or carry along a DD with you. Or walk home. Whatever happens, let me know. I'd like to see how this "strike" works out.
5 comments:
Those guys have to have fares to eat. They are really bad at striking. No way someone will sacrifice a $250-$400 weekend for this.
well either way it took me an over an hour to get a cab from Wash Hospital Center Saturday night/Sunday morning, even after the night guard called 3 different companies repeatedly. So i think they were still all working Georgetown, U St, and Adams Morgan.
I had no problem getting a cab at 18th & Columbia at 10:30pm. On the way home from Dupont at 3am, the driver hesitated to take me home to Lanier Place, but when I convinced him that he could go to Mt. Pleasant or Columbia Heights without passing through the strike zone, all was well.
the strike was targeted in the adams morgan zone you said, but only from 1am to 4am.. they were allowed to drop off, but were not to pick up in the zone you mentioned above.
you need to really understand medallion system and other pieces of legislation the fenty administration has forced upon cabbies to sympathize with their cause.
the cab drivers who were fliering adams morgan that weekend told me its not the switch to time/distance meters thats the problem.. its that now they are officially the LOWEST paid cabs in the nation.. yes the lowest rate. that was the real switch.. a switch to run cabs out of town. along with the NON enforcement of out of town cabs that come in and basically steal their money. the fenty administration has plans for the cab industry, just like it had plans for public school system, public day care system, and everything else that non wealthy people need to live in this city.
they are called dominion of cab drivers; i think they have a site.
every mayor and city has plans for their taxi-cab industries.
this is not a proletariat vs. bourgeoisie argument. rich and poor alike in dc use cabs. if driving a cab wasn't so lucrative in dc, we wouldn't have the HIGHEST percentage of cabs to residents in the united states.
and i personally, STILL have a problem getting a cab after dark. they like stopping for groups of young ladies, but not me. surprise.
empathy, sympathy, whatever. i would have had it if i hadn't been passed by, had the window rolled up on me and been overcharged for years after moving to this city by various cabbies.
really, i have two questions.
1. if business is so bad, why are 300+ applying to be cabs each month?
2. and if you'd like to compare dc to other u.s. cites, ok. let's do it. nyc, phila, boston, even richmond va, all have strict control over cab operations. they are part of the public trust and the face of a city for thousands of tourists and visitors. it's in the best interest of the city to regulate the taxi and limo businesses for the public good since money is being exchanged for a crucial service, transportation.
in nyc, you have even have to paint you car a certain color to operate. we're not anywhere close to that. medallions are being bought and sold for $1.0 million or more in nyc. and you know what? the drivers think its worth it. feel lucky we are not in that place yet. fenty just imposed some rules on a lawless and corruption filled industry. jim graham will probably lose his job over it. cab drivers are not in my good graces right now. they are in no position to advocate. do you really want to defend the broken system of the past?
Post a Comment