Logistical Challenges Ahead in Leaving Zone System
By Sue Anne Pressley Montes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 28, 2007
For months, the biggest issue regarding the future of D.C. taxis was whether to go with zones or meters. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty settled that one this month when he ordered a switch to meters as soon as possible. But as it turns out, the tough questions are only beginning.
What sort of meter is best, and what should its capabilities be? How will meters be supplied, calibrated and maintained? Are enough resources available to make such a mammoth and historic transition? And, perhaps of most interest, what rate structure will allow drivers to earn a living and riders to feel as if they are not being gouged?
Guess what: Nobody has a clue.
The next step in what is likely to be a time-consuming, complex and contentious remapping of the District's taxi system is figuring out everything else that accompanies the mayor's decision. According to Fenty's Oct. 17 executive order, the responsibility falls to D.C. Taxicab Commission Chairman Leon Swain Jr., a former D.C. police officer and Ward 8 community leader who took the reins of the commission in June. Swain, who has just a handful of taxi inspectors, a commission with three expired members and a small budget, has his work cut out for him.
"He's the man of the hour," commission member Tom Heinemann said about Swain, who declined to talk about the task ahead of him.
In deciding to switch to meters, Fenty (D) studied what he called "the best practices" of four U.S. cities: New York, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco.
But there is no place in the taxi universe quite like Washington. With its 23 zones, each with a flat fee, and seemingly haphazard boundaries, the current fare system has been an object of criticism for decades. Last fall, U.S. Sen. Carl M. Levin (D.-Mich.), tired of receiving complaints about local taxi service, attached a provision to D.C. legislation requiring mayoral action on meters. Fenty has said he had wanted to revamp the system anyway as part of his mission to polish the city's image.
Now, it's a matter of starting from scratch. Regulations must be rewritten for the District's estimated 7,000 cab drivers, and an infrastructure for installing and monitoring meters has to be devised. A spring starting date is anticipated, but there is much to be done in the meantime.
"All we have is a bare-boned decision that the District of Columbia is going to time and distance, period," said D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who has oversight of the taxi commission. "That is a central decision, but it gives rise to many, many decisions about the details."
Graham, who said he has had two meetings with Fenty and Peter Nickles, the mayor's general counsel, said he thinks "a rule-making period" is needed. "We're just trying to figure out how you do all this. It's very unusual," he said.
Although taxi companies and drivers are expected to pay for meters, at an estimated cost of $300 to $500 apiece, additional funds for inspectors or other personnel would have to come from the city budget, with council approval.
Like many, Graham said that he expects fares to be "a huge issue" and that he "definitely" plans a public hearing on the matter.
Swain and taxi commission members have been revisiting a commission report that offers clues about where fares may be headed.
The report details what happened when 21 D.C. cabs were outfitted with meters from Oct. 1, 2005, until May 30, 2006.
Passengers were charged only zone fares. But as a test, the meters were set to calculate $2.50 for the first sixth of a mile, also known as the drop rate -- the amount that appears on the meter as soon as a passenger hops in -- and 25 cents for each additional sixth of a mile. (The $2.50 drop rate is used by a number of cities, including Atlanta and New York, although some local officials and drivers say it might be too low for a jurisdiction such as the District.)
According to the findings, after about 8,800 trips, the average meter fare was 53 cents lower than the average zone fare. But the difference varied by distance -- generally, short trips were cheaper with meters; longer trips were cheaper in the zone system.
For example, for a trip of less than a mile, the average zone fare was $8.03; the average meter fare was $5.50. For a trip of 10 miles to nearly 15 miles, the average zone fare was cheaper: $21.83 with zones and $24.05 with meters.
Increasing the drop rate from $2.50 to $4 produced even more variety. Under the $4 rate, the average zone fare was lower, by about 97 cents. But again, distance played a crucial role.
A trip of less than a mile was $7 with meters, $8.03 with zones. But a trip of 10 to nearly 15 miles came out to $21.83 with zones, $25.55 with meters.
Consultants for the taxi industry say they have long viewed the District in a category all its own and are surprised that the zone system is being scratched.
"People eventually gave up on D.C. ever changing," said Bruce Schaller, a former consultant on taxi issues who works for the New York City Department of Transportation. "It's a good move. Just the task of putting the meters into the cabs should be fairly straightforward. But people have to get used to them."
Ray Mundy, director of the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said fare discussions are bound to produce fireworks. "From the start, there will be a bit of awkwardness about the initial rate, and it will probably be set fairly high," he said. "The cab drivers will argue they have to make a living. They'll probably have to set a rate approaching $3 a mile."
He said one effect of the changes might be a streamlining of the system, including an eventual reduction of drivers and subpar vehicles.
"I would think the number [in D.C.] are 30 percent or more in excess," he said. "You could have 5,000 cabs serving more trips per day at a lower rate per mile, in practically new vehicles."
Mundy said the changes might also eliminate what he called "a cash-and-carry business" for some drivers. "They don't even want credit cards," he said. "They don't want anybody close to tracing what incomes they have."
Ed Rogoff, a professor of management at Baruch College of the City University of New York, said that every city has a different rate structure "because the political structure is different everywhere." Meters are "a fair system in theory," he said. "In practice, it requires a lot of supervision."
How the District handles the challenge, Rogoff said, will be watched with interest.
"With a lot of these things, the devil is in the details," he said.
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