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Fenty Mandates Meters for D.C. Cabs
D.C. CABS WILL BE GETTING time-and-distance meters. That's the decision that D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty handed down this morning, as reported by The Post's David Nakamura.
Said the mayor in a statement:
As we work to become a world-class city, it is essential that all aspects of District government are user friendly, fair and efficient for residents and visitors alike. District residents are overwhelmingly in favor of modernizing and simplifying the fare system. By switching to time and distance meters, we meet the needs of the residents and standardize the experience for every taxi passenger.Today was the congressionally mandated deadline for Fenty to decide whether to scrap the city's longstanding zone-based fare system. Michigan Sen. Carl Levin had pushed an amendment that required the District to switch to a meter-based system for the city's cabs unless the mayor decided to opt out.
Many drivers had firmly backed the system as central to keeping D.C.'s fleet of cabs — which they say is large for the city's size — running. The zone system had many detractors, however, including customers who derided it as confusing and easy to manipulate.
» "Fenty to Order Switch to Meters for District Taxis" [WaPo]
Photo by Preston Keres/The Washington Post
Posted By Michael Grass at 10:41 AM on October 17, 2007
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Addison Road
Woot! Finally, some regulation on an industry that was far, far under regulated. Who knows, cabbies might even find that the Time-And-Distance meters make their jobs safer, both having to haggle less with customers, and additionally being compensated for long and or traffic-ridden trips.
By AUA , Posted October 17, 2007 3:46 PM