BID Takes Direct Aim at City Parking Meters

Adams Morgan Partnership BID is reaching out to visitors in quite a unique way. One of the primary issues in the bustling neighborhood is parking. Days, nights, weekends, holidays, whenever, parking will always be an issue in Adams Morgan.

So, the Partnership figured it should go directly to parkers. Affixed to parking meters all along Columbia Road are stickers advising drivers not to park on the street and instead park in a private garage on Champlain Street, one block off the main strip. The private garage can be accessed through a curb cut on 18th Street and is a busy lot on the weekends.

The sticker features a stop sign and red lettering which reads "Don't feed this meter!" at the top. The rest of the text goes on to explain why you should park in the private garage and how to get the cheaper hourly rate. You have to get validated from a business and the promotion is only good until 5:00PM daily.

The Partnership BID has also posted fliers about parking on the community board at 18th and Columbia.

Kind of torn on this one. Obviously the BID has the incentive to do whatever it can to alleviate the parking issue and make it easier for potential customers to reach merchants. But to place the stickers directly on the city meters might go too far. The sticker names the owner of the garage twice. So, in this way it is sort of an advertisement. However, in the corner it is made clear that the sticker was "Bought to you by" and shows the Adams Morgan Partnership logo.

Fair or foul?

Reasons to Be Car Free in DC #6: Real Taxis!

If you ever want to stalk meet me, come to the Black Cat on Friday or Saturday night. I'm the guy sitting at the bar, or dancing, or possibly watching the show. On later nights (earlier mornings), especially during the winter, I like to take a cab home to Mount Pleasant. Before June of this year, that meant walking up to U and 14th Streets and then waiting for an empty cab to come by, fighting off women in heels (cabbies tend to pass me up for them) and dodging aggressive drivers who obviously aren't thinking about pedestrian cross walk rights. I could have caught one in front of the Black Cat, but that meant paying for two zones as the zone barrier was U Street. That ride was $9.80 (including the gas surcharge, which is still in effect). With any sort of tip (I always do) the trip was gauranteed to cost more than $10.00. Would the meters be more affordable? I'll spare you the suspense: YES.

After June 1 when the District began enforcing the change to metered fare, I've taken cabs more often across the board. Its now reasonable for me to take a cab to a get-together if I'm running late, to Union Station to avoid lugging my bags on the Metro, and to home from a night out on the town. These are all everyday activities I avoided hailing cab for before the switch. That $9.80 ride home using the zone system cost me $6.75 using the meter. The drop rate, or inital charge, was $3.00. Mount Pleasant is only about 1.5 miles from 14th and T Streets, so the mileage only cost an additional $2.25. We barely stopped and hit all the green lights perfectly, so we idled for only a few seconds the whole ride (the idling rate is $15 per hour; do the math). Add in the $1.00 gas surcharge and the fare came to $6.75. Sorry if you disagree, but I think that's more fair than the arbitrary zone rate of nearly $10.00. Also, for those who live further afield, think about using cabs more; the maximum fare within the District is now $19.00. Not that meters will cause any of you to give up your cars, but having another affordable option to get around town certainly makes it easier to live in DC without one.

omg, plz. Meters. Just Do It.

For the love of all things measured on a time and distance standard: please let's switch cabs to meters. Like, today please. Yesterday, Mayor Fenty (sort of) clarified the meaning of a recent court ruling that confirmed his power to dictate rules to the Taxicab Commission. I previously assumed he had those powers because he is THE MAYOR. But the city was sued by a group of drivers in order to delay or prevent the imposition of time and distance meters onto all cabs operating in DC. The original deadline of April 6, 2008 has come and gone and since the court ruling was just released, the new deadline could have slipped into the summer and even, as some speculated, October.

However, the mayor is sticking to his guns by demanding that taxi drivers in DC have time and distance meters installed in their vehicles by May 1, 2008, less than a month after the original date. There will be a grace period. While city enforcers can charge $1,000 for each offense (not having a working meter in the cab), they won't assess fines until June 1. Not surprisingly, some drivers are calling for a court appeal and, of course, a strike. Ugh. The driver's have had strikes several times regarding the meters and NO ONE CARES. As I've said before, its a regulated business, so expect to be regulated to a reasonable extent. This is reasonable. The people want the change, no matter how hard the cab drivers try to convince us otherwise. Also, every other city and its mother uses the meters and only the smaller cities with smaller taxi fleets use the zone system. I'll be so happy when this ordeal is over, can you tell?

Drop Rates and School Closings

Two quick news notes:

Number One: Kudos to Mayor Fenty and the Taxicab Commission. The Washington Post reports on some changes related to metered taxis, due to arrive this spring. They listened to citizen feedback and decided to lower the drop rate for the new taxi meters. The drop rate is the amount at which the meter starts at the beginning of a fare. Basically, the minimum charge. The initial drop rate was $4, making it unlikely that riders would realize any rate benefit from the old zone system. The new $3 drop rate is a little more reasonable. It makes short, 6 or 7 block trips possible. Fenty also stuck down the right of a cabbie to pick up additional fares on a ride, eliminated the rush hour surcharge, and reduced the snow emergency fee. I agree with all the decisions, although cab drivers may institute some strike days before the end.

Number Two: Tonight (Thursday), the city will host multiple hearings across the District on the school closing and reorganization plan. Parents an other residents can address the plan floated by Mayor Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. No schools in Mt Pleasant will be affected, but feel free to attend one of the meetings if you at all interested. Tubman Elementary (3101 13th St NW) is the closest hearing location to Mt Pleasant. The full list of meeting spaces is here. Should be an interesting night of discussions.

Two Words: Metered Fare

Read it here. I pined for it here.