Cab Switch To Meters Is Tied Up

The issue has generated rancor since Fenty decided to switch to meters in October, after Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) attached a provision to an appropriations bill requiring that the District use meters unless the mayor ordered the zone system be left intact. Meter regulations were proposed in November, and the lawsuit was filed in early March. If the judge rules that Fenty did not have the authority to choose meters, that would send the contentious issue back to square one.

It is unclear how many cabs have been outfitted with meters. Manufacturers say they have thousands waiting shipment once drivers commit to the orders. Uncertainty has created a near-standstill. Almost a dozen drivers interviewed in downtown D.C. yesterday said they did not know a single cabbie who had installed a meter.

"The drivers are understandably a little confused as to what they should be doing because they don't want to spend money they're later told they didn't have to spend," said D.C. Council member Jim Graham (Ward 1-D), who has oversight of the taxi industry. "There's a belief out there the court decision could go either way."

At the District Cab garage in Northeast Washington, Earl Hubbard has been installing meters at a steady clip, about 20 or 30 a week, he said. He has a waiting list of about 30 vehicles. Installation takes about an hour, he said.

"Right now, I've got a headache from here to California, I got so much work to do," he said, his hands deep inside a red Diplomat cab's engine as he hooked up a meter. "It's going to be impossible to get all the meters in by May 1. They have to give them some kind of extension."

Outside, rows of taxis waited for service so drivers could hit the road again. Most of those pacing outside the garage yesterday aren't installing meters until they absolutely have to. "Why spend $350 when it's all up in the air?" said one longtime driver, who didn't want to give his name for fear of repercussions by the city.

The owner of two D.C. cab companies said yesterday that none of his 135 taxis has a meter.

"If the court rules that a meter is not required, what will we do with the meters?" said Pritam Singh Ghuman, president of Gold Star Cab and a partner in Presidential Cab. "Who will compensate us? This is a democratic country. The mayor is not the final authority."

Centrodyne, one of the approved manufacturers, has shipped a few hundred of its Silent 620 printing taxi meters, at $344 apiece, from its South Burlington, Vt., headquarters to the District. But the company has orders for thousands more on hold because of the court issue, general manager Byron Corcoran said.

"We've been preparing for the large shipments; the dealers are preparing; we're just waiting," he said yesterday.

Pulsar, a meter company on Long Island, N.Y., likewise has shipped some orders to the District but is awaiting news from the court before shipping massive orders, an employee there said.

Meter installers, in the meantime, are gearing up.

Mushtaq Gilani, owner of Icon Cab, which has about 20 vehicles, has yet to install one device, he said, because his shipment has not arrived from the manufacturer. He hopes to begin this weekend.

"What I tell people is, 'You know the meters are coming, if not today, then tomorrow,' " he said. "I say, get ready for it and then whatever happens, you can go from there."

Staff writer Sopan Joshi contributed to this report.