Cab Riders Organize Online to Protest Fares

Cab riders, from left, James Mann, Jack Jacobson, Roger Limoges, and D.J. Karni organize a protest against a proposed $4 drop rate, the base fare that registers on meters when a rider enters a cab. "We are David versus Goliath," their group, D.C. Residents for Reasonable Taxi Fares, says on its Web site. (Photos By Melina Mara -- The Washington Post)

At a news conference Nov. 1, two weeks after he announced his decision to move to meters, Fenty announced he had decided on the $4 base charge, plus a rate of 25 cents for every one-sixth of a mile after the first sixth of a mile traveled. There also will be a charge of 25 cents for every minute stopped in traffic or traveled under 10 miles an hour. Fenty set an April 1 deadline for the city's 6,000 cabs to be outfitted with meters.

Residents were invited to comment on the fare structure by the end of December. A mayor's spokeswoman said Fenty will consider public opinions in his final decision.

In its first 24 hours, the petition launched by D.C. Residents for Reasonable Taxi Fares had collected more than 500 signatures, Jacobson said. Comments by those who signed were typical: "Ludicrous. Living in this city is expensive enough as it is." "Outrageous that we can get rid of the zones and still find a way to be ripped off." "Shockingly high."

In surveying other cities, Jacobson said he found no other area with a drop rate as high as $4. Across the river in Arlington, he said, the drop rate is $2.75.

A pilot study by the taxi commission of 21 cabs outfitted with meters in 2005 and 2006 showed what might happen with varying drop rates. With a $4 drop rate, meter fares averaged about 97 cents higher than zone fares. With a $2.50 drop rate, meter fares were on average 53 cents lower than zone fares.

Using the $4 drop rate, a fare of less than one mile was $7 on the meter, $8.03 with zones. With a $2.50 drop rate, the meter fare was $5.50 for less than one mile; the zone fare was again $8.03.

Steve Sushner, a lawyer and another member of the fledgling group, said his biggest complaint with the proposed fares has to do with the additional charges.

"It's surcharge on top of surcharge," said Sushner, 29. "There's a dollar surcharge for being in rush hour, then 25 cents per minute, then you put a snow emergency on top of that [when the rates double].

"I'm for meters," he said. "I just think the rates should be reasonable, and a $4 drop rate and all those surcharges are not reasonable."