By Sue Anne Pressley Montes and Yolanda Woodlee
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announced yesterday that he will require time-and-distance meters in the District's 6,000 taxicabs, abandoning a rare zone system that has been used for decades and heralding major changes in the way the local taxi industry operates.
No timetable was set for the switch, and it was uncertain whose wallets will benefit most. That depends, a study showed, on the length of the trip. A meter system tends to favor the customer on shorter trips and the driver on longer ones.
It remained unclear how much the meters will cost the taxi industry to buy and install. Under the executive order Fenty signed yesterday, the mayor's office and the chairman of the D.C. Taxicab Commission are supposed to devise a plan for the change as quickly as possible. Sources with the mayor and the commission said officials hoped to have meters running by spring.
The zone system has been treasured by many drivers, who reacted to yesterday's news with outrage. They warned of a strike within two weeks and vowed to lobby to have the decision reversed.
Fenty (D) said he was most influenced by the views of D.C. residents, who said they wanted improvements in a system they found confusing and illogical. Making sense of the zone maps and keeping track of the zones traveled through can be a dizzying exercise, residents said.
"The residents of the District of Columbia have said they want clearly visible fares," Fenty said. "They want a sense that overcharging is not occurring, and they want a clearer relationship between a fare and the distance traveled."
That view was expressed by taxi customers interviewed yesterday, including Millie Davis of Lorton, who said, "They need to get current with technology."
The issue had been simmering for months as Fenty vowed to study the pros and cons of ditching the zone system, and cabdrivers' tension levels rose as the mayor's decision neared. Recently, several hundred drivers rallied at Freedom Square against a time-and-distance meter system, and debates raged on radio talk shows and in newspaper forums.
Fenty made his announcement yesterday at Alabama Avenue and Naylor Road SE, a location he said illustrated the inherent problems with the zone system: Each corner is in a different zone and represents a different fare.
The mayor acknowledged that he had considered the District's status as the only major U.S. city that did not use meters. Cab companies in suburban Maryland and Virginia operate on the meter system as do companies in Baltimore and Richmond.
Emily Durso, president of the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C., said the local hotel industry is "thrilled" by the decision. "It's not the only thing we can do to improve the taxi industry," she said, "but it's a very big step."
For years, the issue has stirred controversy, resurfacing every year or so for debate. But this time, Congress was applying the pressure. Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), a longtime critic of zones, attached a provision to legislation last fall requiring a decision on meters and setting a deadline. Fenty inherited the matter when he became mayor this year; instead of complaining about congressional interference, he has spoken about the need to finally address the subject in a careful way.
Levin said he was pleased with the outcome. "Mayor Fenty's decision is the right one," he said in a statement. "Washington is a world-class capital city with a strong mayor, and his decision reflects that."
In making his decision, Fenty said he was heavily influenced by an August survey of 611 D.C. residents, conducted by Zogby International for the taxi commission. According to the survey, 53 percent of cab riders find the zones difficult to use, up 12 percentage points from a survey in 1994, a fact that Fenty said he found "instructive." He also cited other findings: 69 percent wanted a visible fare; 73 percent thought that meters would make overcharging less likely; 68 percent wanted a clearer relationship between the fare and time and distance traveled.
"It's a system D.C. residents feel the time has come to end," he said of zones.
Taxicab Commission Chairman Leon J. Swain Jr. said it will take a while to put zones to rest. "It's not something we're going to be able to do overnight," he said.
Currently, under zones, the minimum ride is $6.50. Details about a new rate structure remain to be decided. The changeover could be expensive for cab owners; estimates are that a meter costs from $300 to $500.
Some cabdrivers warned that the dispute is not over.
"Get ready for the strike, the big strike," said William Wright of the Taxicab Industry Group, one of several groups representing drivers. "We want him to reconsider."
Wright added: "We're going to find a way to get this overturned. If we have to go to every single member of the Senate and the House, we're going to do that."
The vast majority of the District's cabdrivers are independent contractors, and many fear the loss of the zone system will lead to a loss of independence. They point to other large cities, where the industry is run by a few large corporations. Many are disappointed that Fenty did not choose a much-talked-about hybrid system that would preserve zones and furnish receipts, using the Global Positioning System.
D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) was among the backers of the hybrid plan. He stuck to that position yesterday, saying Fenty's decision "will greatly increase the fares for people who live east of the Anacostia River and travel to and from far Northwest."
Yellow Cab installed zone-fare calculators in 300 taxis during the past year. General Manager Roy Spooner Sr. said yesterday that the company "will convert our system to whatever the city requires" but that he was disappointed in Fenty's decision.
"It was not well-thought-out," Spooner said, citing the possibly negative impact on drivers' livelihoods and on the wallets of riders who travel to far-flung parts of the city.
Sherman Basil, a driver for almost 50 years, said Fenty made the wrong decision.
"With meters, you can do whatever you want," he said. "You can ride them all over the place. You can get in traffic jams."
Some cab riders provided a somewhat mixed reaction.
Rita Salamone, who lives in Southwest Washington, said the zone system seems more fair. "If you're just sitting, the meters just tick away," she said.
But Heather Alman of Cleveland Park said she has been charged several different fares to go from Foggy Bottom to Tenleytown, a common complaint.
"I don't like the zoning system," she said. "The maps are really hard to read. You're fully in the hands of the drivers and you have to trust them."
Staff writer David Nakamura contributed to this report.
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