Cabbie Strike Looms In D.C.
Halloween Protest Targets Switch To Meter System

By Sue Anne Pressley Montes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 30, 2007

District businesses are bracing for a 24-hour taxi strike threatened on Halloween, a high-volume day for cabs, in what drivers say might be the first in a series of strikes to protest Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's recent decision to switch from zones to meters.

Tourism officials said out-of-town visitors will be inconvenienced, although many hotels plan to provide limos and shuttles, and bar owners are concerned about the effect on business if customers are not sure of a taxi ride home.

It is unclear how many drivers will participate.

Organizers said more than half the city's estimated 7,500 drivers will be on strike from 6 a.m. tomorrow to 6 a.m. Thursday. Their claims were difficult to gauge, however, because there have been no mass meetings on a strike, and drivers, most of them independent contractors, are represented by several organizations.

Spreading the message through leaflets and word of mouth, organizers contend that there are enough angry drivers to bring taxi service in much of the city to a standstill.

"We just want to say to the mayor that we are in complete disagreement with him and that we are opposed to time-and-distance meters," said William J. Wright, president of the Taxicab Industry Group, who is leading the strike. "We're going to do everything we can to overturn this decision."

The last time District cabdrivers went on strike, it was for 12 hours Nov. 17, 2004. They were upset by legislation proposed by then-Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) to revamp taxi regulation.

The 2004 strike caused significant disruption as cabdrivers parked outside hotels and cruised the streets but refused to pick up passengers. It particularly affected service at Dupont Circle, Capitol Hill and Union Station.

Wright announced the latest strike Oct. 17, the day Fenty (D) decided to switch to meters from the decades-old zone system favored by many cabdrivers. Drivers say they fear that the change will threaten their livelihoods and make cab rides unaffordable for many residents.

Fenty said he was influenced by a rider survey showing widespread dissatisfaction with local cab service. D.C. Taxicab Commission Chairman Leon Swain Jr. has begun rewriting regulations, anticipating a springtime start for meters.

Several cabdriver organizations said they expect participation in the strike to be significant.

Wegen Tadesse said the 900 members of the Ethiopian Ethio-American United Cab Owner Association plan to strike. "It's not just about the meters now," he said. "There are no guarantees for any of our jobs. The big companies are going to take over the business."

Nathan Price of the D.C. Professional Taxicab Drivers Association said his group, with about 500 members, has "reached out" to 3,000 more drivers, urging them to join the strike.

Wright, whose Taxicab Industry Group has no set membership, said the Halloween strike is "just the beginning" of a campaign to persuade Fenty to rethink his decision. No drivers' rally is planned for tomorrow, but Wright said additional strikes might be held as drivers become more organized.

Even if half of the District's drivers strike, the city would have more cabdrivers working than Boston, with 1,825 licensed drivers; San Francisco, 1,381; or Denver, 842.

Tourism officials said they are prepared.

"The hotels generally have their individual plans in place," said Liz DeBarros, vice president of the Hotel Association of Washington D.C. "They have contracts with transportation companies. We've always got a Plan B. We don't anticipate much disruption."

In a statement, William A. Hanbury, president and chief executive of the Washington, D.C., Convention and Tourism Corp., also voiced calm, calling meters "the right solution" for the District's taxi system.

"While we recognize that a strike may inconvenience some of our visitors, we are fortunate to have one of the nation's best public transportation systems in Metro and the D.C. Circulator, and a network of hotels and hospitality partners that will step up to offer other transportation solutions," Hanbury said. The D.C. Circulator is a bus service.

Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith said the agency will monitor service and adjust as needed to accommodate extra passengers that take Metrorail or Metrobus because of the strike.

Bar owners expressed concern about the effect of a strike on Halloween crowds.

"I see it as a very sour way of expressing themselves on an otherwise overwhelming night," John Andrade, owner of Asylum in Adams Morgan. "I think they're putting the community in jeopardy. People depend on cabs to take them home at night."

A program that provides free cab rides on Halloween will be offered despite the strike, said Kurt Gregory Erickson, president of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program.

Erickson said the program has contracts with nine cab companies to provide the service from 8 p.m. tomorrow until 4 a.m. Thursday. "I think we'll be okay. We'll have enough drivers," he said.

Resident may call the toll-free SoberRide phone number, 800-200-TAXI, for a free ride home.

Staff writer Lena Sun contributed to this report.