District business leaders and consumer groups rallied against a proposed increase in taxi cab rates Tuesday, even as cabbies battled in front of the D.C. Taxicab Commission over how high the rates needed to go to help them earn a better living.
“Customers cannot continue to serve as ATMs for the taxicab industry,” said spokesman Jack Jacobson of a newly formed consumer watchdog, DC Taxi Watch, which opposes any increase.
Cab drivers have been clamoring for a fare increase for years, and many feel they deserve one from the current administration because they supported the election of Mayor Vincent Gray, as reported by The Washington Examiner on Tuesday.
| Proposal from Nicholas Maxwell, independent cabbie |
| -$2.75 entry charge |
| -$2.75 per mile |
| -Eliminate most surcharges |
| Proposal from Roy Spooner, Yellow Cab Co. of DC |
| -$3 entry charge |
| -$2 per mile |
| -Keep surcharges |
| Current rates |
| -$3 entry charge |
| -$1.50 per mile |
| -$1.50 extra passenger surcharge |
| – 50 cents bag assistance surcharge (per bag) |
| -$1 gas surcharge |
| -$2 dispatch surcharge |
| Other surcharges apply for snowstorms and Reagan National Airport |
Commission Chairman Ron Linton supports increasing the fares, calling it “intuitive” that cab drivers need a raise. But he denied that the commission is being pressured by the mayor to push through the fare increase.
“He doesn’t have a vote on my commission,” Linton said. “I have received no instructions from the mayor’s office or the chief administrator’s office other than get on this problem and take care of it.”
Cabbies are divided over two proposals that were aired at Tuesday’s hearing.
One proposal would nearly double the per-mile rate from $1.50 to $2.75 and eliminate most of the current surcharges passengers pay.
The other proposal would keep the surcharges in place and raise the per-mile rate from $1.50 to $2.
Most cabbies who testified favored keeping the surcharges, which include the 50 cents-per-bag fee if the driver helps load luggage, $1.50 for every extra passenger and $1 to cover higher gas costs.
Business leaders insisted that any rate increase be tied to improvements in taxi service, such as allowing payment by credit card.
“The feedback we have received from member hotels and travelers to our city is that the D.C. taxicab industry is one of the worst of any major city in the United States,” said Solomon Keene, president of the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C. “A rate increase without the necessary reforms would only [cement] that perception.”
But cab drivers said they wouldn’t be able to improve service unless they made more money.
“Without fair and proper compensation, the drivers will not be able to contribute to updating equipment,” said Roy Spooner of the Yellow Cab Co. of DC.
Linton said the commission plans to discuss the changes Friday and may issue a proposed rule Dec. 13, with a final vote in January.
