Best Mayor Ever

And yet he failed to expand Zone 1 a few blocks up to Florida Ave. Time to print out some recall petitions...

hooray! DC taxi maps have been a clusterf**k for the 19 years I've lived here. Now my fellow Obie is fixing it. Man, Adrian has a lot to fix...I am so glad he's on the job!

I haven't looked at a D.C. cab mab since the movie DC Cab was in theaters. That being said, I was always confused by those maps as a kid so I just stopped paying them any attention. I wonder if these are the same maps from the late 1970's that are being updated?

Honestly, I never had trouble with old maps. Yeah some of them were faded, but if you looked closely, it wasn't too hard to figure out anything. Fares are always on the back windows of cabs.

On another note, I love the zone system. I use to go from near AU all the way to almost RFK fro 13 bucks. Name me another city where you can do it for that cheap. Yes the zones can screw when you are making a shirt trip, but you cross a zone boundary. My answer learn where the boundaries are and walk a block or two.

Jesus, Nation's Capitol, that's really bad.

And yet he failed to expand Zone 1 a few blocks up to Florida Ave. Time to print out some recall petitions...

It's super-wack.

Oh, JM, you can say that about so many things in DC.

One year when I lived there in the mid-90s, there was a massive snow storm. True to form, the District did not start plowing until much too late. Such was the state of civic trust that people in Southeast thought that all the plows were in Northwest, where the rich white people live. People in Northwest thought that all the plows were in Southeast where then-Mayor Marion Barry's political supporters were concentrated.

Municipal government was so bad it almost made me sympathetic to Republicans. Almost.

Eventually we may even join the civilized world and get meters.

I have always believed that the fare system in D.C. was the most bizarre thing I had ever seen in any industrialized nation. Even with a better map, it will now only move up to third place.

I have never taken a ride in any cab in D.C. and not suspected that I was being ripped off.

jesus, how hard can it be to get meters? even Boston has them.

The old maps weren't that hard. Really.... I could see if one was a tourist visiting for the first time but for anyone who's spent any real time at all in DC there's no reason why a map 45 degrees off of center should be be disorientating.

Are you that "in the box" that unless due north is absolutely straight up you can't figure it out? Wow....

Bully for him. What really bugs me about the zone maps, though, is that most drivers fix them, top and bottom, so low on the back of the front seat, that you have to literally lie down on the back seat to read them.

... hey. Maybe THAT'S why they've always been sideways.

When spotting the title I was sure this was going to be a Gavin Newsome post.

Municipal government was so bad it almost made me sympathetic to Republicans. - Doug

I've long wondered if a lot of the strength the GOP has in the midwest is due to the stranglehold of corrupt and incompetent Dem political machines on the regional big city governments. I mean Joe Sixpack in rural MO or IL has gotta be sayin' "look at how corrupt those Dems. in St. Louis and Chicago are: maybe the GOP has a point about the Dems. and gummint in general?".

Seems to me like we Dems. do need to do some housecleaning if we wanna win back Kansas for progressives.

Ip guy if you thought you were being ripped off, you are not paying attention. All you do is you look in the map that is in every cab when you get in, find the location of where you are going on said map or at least have a general idea of where it is, and then count the zones.

Zones are great because as long as you can read a map, the cabbie can't rip you off and has no incentive to take anything but the fastest route. I'm telling you again, zones are great if you are going more then 10 blocks because I can almost guarantee it will be cheaper then a meter.

Yes it might be nice to extend zone 1 further, but the cab drivers have to make their money. If it bothers you that much, walk down from Florida to U street, only a few blocks.

Really, you guys are complaining about the DC maps? Here in Seattle I have no idea how much a metered cab fare will cost me, except that it will be at least 2x what it would be in DC. I *loved* the fact in DC that going from Point A to Point B was always the same price.

Oh, and that I could catch a cab within minutes almost anywhere. Oh, and that I could call a cab and they would actually show up. Oh, and that dispatchers and drivers knew places by landmark names and didn't require explicit addresses (no, an intersection isn't good enough in Seattle - don't even try asking just to be picked up at a restaurant that's been here before my *parents* were born).

And you have a functional subway system?

Yeah. Totally incompetent government you've got there. My heart is bleeding for you.

DC has the cheapest taxi fares of any major American city, and it's because of the zones. I can't believe you guys are complaining. I guess it's inbred in Washingtonians. Never stop lobbying, no matter how much largesse the government showers down on you.

Andy - I've lived in the DC area for 32 of my 50+ years, and I had no trouble reading the DC taxi maps. My problem was that the maps, and the fares they supposedly implied, never coincided with the fare I was charged.

Accordingly, I only use cabs in D.C. when absolutely necessary, because I know I'll just get the feeling, at the end of the ride, that I'm being taken for a ride.

Give me meters any old day.

I *loved* the fact in DC that going from Point A to Point B was always the same price.

morfydd - I'm glad somebody had that experience!

if a cab driver charged you a different price then what you thought it should be and you paid it, that was your fault. You tell what you think it should be and you pay that, if they don't like it ask for their name and say you are going to talk to the taxi authority. The couple of times someone has tried that on me, this has always done the trick.

I always have had the experience of being charged the same price to go from one point to another. The only times that was different was during rush hour, I called the cab, I used the trunk, or I had more then one passenger. All of which are things that the cabs clearly say cost more.

here's what the zones often get you -- a cabbie who lies about how much you owe in the hopes that you don't realize how to count subzones (those still exist on new map), or how they might take you via the parkway or somesuch to cross more zones. so people unfamiliar with the system usually will hate zones, along with those for whom it doesn't pan out (i just want to get to kingpin without paying for a few blocks of travel in another zone, etc.). by contrast, those who are going the max distance in a given zone will often be thrilled.

A few months ago I had a cabbie with what I thought was a meter. As it turns out, it was just a display screen that started at "6.50" then displayed "8.80" at some point. I realized that this was just a GPS-linked system that had the zone boundaries built into it. Somehow I think this is as close to meters as we're ever going to get.

This is funny. I took a taxi in DC once a few years back. My stepfather told me: "when the driver charges you, just look confused and ask how many zones it was, then he'll charge you the right amount." I asked what that meant and he said it didn't matter---cabbies know a tourist when they see one, and that trick would throw them off the scent. I have no idea if it worked.

This is a relief. I've been in DC 6 months and have never really understood how much a cab could/should cost.

On the other hand, the Metro subway and bus system is actually kind of fantastic, so it doesn't matter unless it's 2:45 in the morning.

Nonstandardly oriented taxi maps can be surprisingly hard to read, especially when you've been drinking.

I remember that snowstorm. I remember voting for Marion Berry because I didn't want my neighborhood to be the one that supported him least, because then we'd never get plowed.

DC has the cheapest taxi fares of any major American city, and it's because of the zones.

I've heard a lot of people say this, but in my experience it doesn't seem to be true. I take a lot of cabs in Philly, and they're definitely cheaper. I've got smaller sample sizes in other American cities, but they seem to be cheaper as well.

You can get a good deal with the zone system if you're going to just the right place. Usually, though, it's a nightmare. Everyone I know would prefer meters. That may have something to do with how we use cabs, though -- primarily as a means of getting to and from nightlife destinations.

Putting north at the top is nice and all, but it creates a lot of wasted space and results in a map that on the same size paper is roughly half the size of one with the old orientation. Will that result in a net increase in legibility?

Your cabs don't have meters? What the hell?

well, any news on the taxicab front is good news, it seems.

it's a sad day for our interest group pluralism when the taxicab lobby prevents us from switching to meters (which everyone i know in dc wants). whatever were the results from "pilot study" of metered cabs?

Not "Best Mayor Ever" but the new "America's Mayor" I think is the appropriate title. Not like Giuliani deserves that title.

A thought:

Marion Berry for President?

www.draftberry.com

well, any news on the taxicab front is good news, it seems.

it's a sad day for our interest group pluralism when the taxicab lobby prevents us from switching to meters (which everyone i know in dc wants). whatever were the results from "pilot study" of metered cabs?

My understanding is that the zone system was devised by Congress to minimize the cost of getting to the capitol.

http://www.dcpages.com/Travel/Reviews/taxi.shtml

Zones are cheaper. I just picked two random spots, the zoo to union station, two zones 8.80. 4.6 miles, which according to the NYC taxi commission would cost me 11.70 plus probably another 1.20 or so at .40 for every 60 seconds I am stopped or below 12 mph. (In Philadelphia at 2.30 pickup and 2.10 per mile or portion thereof, this ride would cost me 13.50. DC wins again) And yes I know Union Station is at the edge of a zone, so even if you go a little farther, it is up to 11 and I can go all the way to the Anaconstia for that price. DC still wins

This is why zones rock, I get no charge for not moving, and I don't have to worry about cabbies driving me a longer distance in an attempt to get more money.

I dare anyone to figure out how far a dc cab ride they actually take is, and then compare it to any other city. I am positive DC will come out ahead.

By the way, the ride I take the most, in DC 12.40, in NYC at least 20, probably more

Is it really absurd to just let cabbies charge whatever the hell they want? As long as they give you an up front price and are willing to take you anywhere in the city I don't see any point in regulating how the price is computed. Regulating who can run a cab makes sense - cabbies spend a hell of a lot more time on the road than most drivers, and they need a certain level of knowledge of the area, but that's really it.

Travellers would quickly learn to recognize which cab companies use which pricing scheme (I can come up with four easily), and the objectionable ones would quickly fall by the wayside, leaving probably two or three systems.

nathaniel - Your zoo-union station example sounds nice, but hardly justifies your love for the zone system, which just sounds delusional. First, the actual driving distance in your example is 3.7 miles, not 4.1 miles, so your hypothetical cabbie *was* taking you for a ride. That's $10.10 in NYC cab fare. Assuming you went to the zoo by yourself, and now have to quickly catch a train, but, uh, don't have any luggage -- you saved yourself $1.30 over NYC metered rates. But let's say that you're over at Howard and need to catch a train (2.2 miles away at Union Station). It still costs you $8.80 in DC, vs. $6.90 at NYC rates. Pasted below are a bunch of real world examples from a different blog comment a year ago.

Note also that the zone system doesn't save tourists from being gouged. Drivers make up fares and zone lines all the time. I usually ask the fare before I get out of a cab, and in DC, it's wrong literally half the time (and funny, I've never had a driver attempt to undercharge me). If I didn't know the zone lines fairly well, and have a pretty good sense of DC geography, hell if I'd know if the zone charge were right (never mind the miscellaneous or simply imaginary airport/snow/baggage/passenger/train station fees that can more than double a fare). The zone system works for a few lucky people who happen to live/work/play right on a zone line near downtown. It could be nice if you lived at Connecticut and Florida (where 3 zones meet) or if you really, really like the strippers at the Golden Palace. But it doesn't work for most people who live in DC, or work or visit. It doesn't even work for cabbies.

Partial comment from DCist (Jan. 06) reposted below:

Driving a cab for a living is a tough job, and it's probably as bad (long hours, pain-in-the-neck customers) in DC as most other big cities. Fortunately for DC cabbies, DC's byzantine fare system nets them gigantic fares, and provides ample opportunities for them to stick it to customers.

To those who think the 2- and 3-zone fares are so uncommon, or usually involve particularly jam-prone traffic areas. How about this fairly typical ride?

Union Station to NE Capitol Hill (say, F and 13th). It's only about a mile walking, but let's say you and a friend just got off a train, have some luggage, and don't want to hoof it. In NYC, this would be $5.70 (plus a buck extra at rush hour). In DC, it would be $5.50 if it were you, by yourself, with no luggage, and the taxi commission hadn't instituted an "emergency" gas charge equivalent to more than a half gallon of gas for every trip. In reality, it's 2 zones ($7.60), plus the gas surcharge ($1.50), plus $1.50 for an extra passenger, plus $0.50 each for your "extra" bags (plus an extra buck at rush hour). So that's $11.60 with an extra bag each (and assuming your driver doesn't peg you for a visitor and try to charge you an extra "Union Station fee" or somesuch). Oh, and you and your friend better be getting off at the same stop -- one of you can't get off a few blocks farther down the road, like at G at 15th -- or else you gets charged for two separate trips (but save the $1.50 extra passenger fee). So the combined total would be $19.20 (vs. a little over $6.00 in NYC).

Don't frequent NE Capitol Hill? How about K St. and 13th to 18th and Kalorama in Adams Morgan? Or Dupont Circle to Georgetown? Each 2-zone fares. Or for the truly ridiculous, how about 3 visitors staying at the Omni Shoreham and heading off to dinner in Adams Morgan? One mile, 2 zones, 3 people, 5 minutes (tops): DC's non-rush-hour fare without extra luggage? $12.10 (vs. less than $5 in NYC).

The District is angled on the Taxicab Zone Maps so that the print can be larger.

The new maps will not only be taped to the headrest of the front seat in a location that is too dark to read under normal circumstance, but now the print will be too small to read anyway.

It mystifies me that anyone could argue that zones are cheap than meters (or vice versa). But this idea seems to feature prominently in local debates about taxis.

The current DC zone system is more expensive than meters that charge 50 cents a mile and cheaper than meters that charge $5 a mile. The price per zone or per mile is set by the Taxi Commission, not by God almighty.

And by the way, just how much are you supposed to be charged for a sub-zone in DC? The map doesn't say anything about sub-zones.

Togolosh said: "Is it really absurd to just let cabbies charge whatever the hell they want?"
This summer I spent about 3 months in China (doing the silk road from Shanghai to Kashgar) so I spent a lot of time in gypsy cabs and various other basically unregulated cabs. Sometimes it was fine (once travelled about 100km for the equivalent of ~1.75 USD), but the amount of time spent haggling over prices and the danger of getting completely fucked (eg. cabbie decides you are going to pay 3x the quoted fare and won't unlock the trunk with your bags in it until you do) makes it hardly worth it. I ended up dealing with Chinese police at least 3 times over cab issues, not my idea of fun. The other thing is that the cabbies will usually just gang up and quote uniformly exorbitant prices if they figure you can pay. It wasn't just language barrier either, I was travelling with someone who spoke fluent mandarin. I also spent a month in Thailand and Laos which was even worse in some cases. I really have to say that there is nothing nicer than getting into a metered taxi and knowing that you're not going to get *completely* ripped off, and that you have some recourse if the cabbie fucks around.

PMP I got my distance from the zoo to union station using the google map distance calculator. It might be 3.7 as the bird flys, but driving it is 4.1. Also again, you are not taking into account dc's lack of charges for sitting in traffic. That will add up real quick. in NYC 40 cents for every 60 second spent under 12 miles an hour. SO for most city traffic 40 cents for every minute you are in the car.

All the other examples, well it seems as if the people are letting themselves get scammed. If you make multiple stops, it is the zone fair to the farthest destination, plus extra passengers, plus sops. Superbowl Sunday, Cap lounge to 14th Penn SE, to 14th E Capitol, to Chinatown, 21 dollars total.

Zones with no charges for traffic, will always be cheaper. The only way it won't is if you let yourself get scammed, which your example is a classic example of a scam. You can make eup all sorts of complicated trips, but the majority of trips are taking by people got from one destination to another.

As to subzones, that is a zone charge. Going from 4A to 4B is one zone, as is from 4A to 3A. All you do to figure out the number of zones, is you count how many borders you cross, zone and subzone. And it doesn't matter the actual route the driver took, you just count the quickest way.

Actually, the distance from the zoo to union station is 3.7 miles according to google maps (on the road, driving, like a cab would). But hey, you're not riding in a cab with a meter, so how would you know?

You can dismiss all these perfectly reasonable examples, and no doubt, you'd dismiss a hundred more. But they are real examples of how people travel (or would like to travel) by taxi. They aren't scams. Or at least most of the charges aren't scams. (I mention the scams merely to point out that a zone system doesn't actually solve the problem of overcharging, despite that being one of its few supposed advantages.) The "extra" passenger charge is real. As is the doubled zone fare during snow "emergencies." And although you don't seem aware of it, DC taxis taking multiple people to multiple destinations charge twice (or rather, once for each passenger). So you and your buddies (who all live in same general direction) who'd like to share a cab home at 2:30 Saturday night might as well go in separate cabs, since it'll cost the same. As for your multi-stop ride on Super Sunday, if you actually stopped in all those places, good for you -- you got the nice DC cabbie who cut you a break. I met that guy once. He's nice.

It sounds like your assumption that people in the examples I cite got "scammed" may be related to other commenters' thoughts that it's simple enough to walk over a zone line. Sure, one could do that (if you're near one, and know where it is). But why? If you're going to be taking a taxi from some U Street spot to, say, Foggy Bottom, why should it cost $6.50 for you to ride by yourself from the Black Cat to the heart of GW's campus, but $10.30 for you and a friend to share a cab for the shorter ride from Busboys & Poets to GW Hospital? A fare system that encouraged people to walk instead of riding short distances might be a good idea, but the zone system doesn't do that. It encourages people to take taxis when they're traveling on a zone-friendly route, and discourages what might be even more efficient choices when those rides will take them through extra zones. And on top of this weird distortion of the market, DC's system discourages ride-sharing by making it cost extra. (And other rules -- like allowing drivers to stop in the middle of your ride and pick up some other strangers on the way, whether you like it or not -- don't increase efficiency so much as make non-DC residents shake their heads in wonder.)

It's good to see *someone* likes zones -- it's not just assinine intertia that keeps us in DC from having a fair and reasonable rate system, but rather, there exist at least a handful of DC residents who apparently suffer the delusion that the zone system is fair.

My background in being a native Washingtonian, the son of a very active DC taxicab driver, having served as a DC cab driver and my graduating college to begin my career as an Educator has had me always approach this issue by respecting
the need of the public and politicians to first know the facts of this issue to help form a well supported opinion and manner of address to the very unique DC taxicab Zone System.
I trust that everyone knows that Doctors ,lawyers and every profession that I can think of are specifically trained to first research and then responsibly address an issue. It doesn't go the other way.
Please contact me and let me know of any parent who will not first responsibly check their infants diaper and offer the infant a bottle before they decide that the child is crying only due to their need for some attention. Please contact me and let me know of any Doctor who has a practice of prescibing medication without first responsibly examining the patiant or of a automobile mechanic who will charge a person for tuning up their car when the real need happened to just be a new battery.
I believe the corrupt "regulation" of the DC Taxicab Industry belongs in a very detailed "Believe It or Not" presentation. The local and national news media and every appointed or "elected" politician ever serving office in this nations capital city(except John Wilson in 1975)has supposedly offered their own solution to this problem without first responsibly researching and sharing the corrupt facts on just how and why DC is the only major city in this entire world not using a meter to equitably compute their local taxicab fares and to reliably record and tax the income of local taxicab companies and drivers.
More people know about Monica or of some actress shaving her head than those who know how Congress screwed up the DC taxicab fare structure with a legislative trick over 70 years ago. (Washington Post editorial "The Taxicab Rider" 11/13/71)
I find it fascinating that this country was actually experiencing "The Depression" when 20 specific reasons were given to, "deny any version of the zone system to replace the use of meters in DC taxicabs." (PUC order no. 956 11/06/31)
Social, economic and political oppressors presenting themselves as politrickcians and "reporters" have yet to allow it be common knowledge how the corporate greed of Bell Cab Co.
had been the origin of the very unique DC Taxicab Zone System.
Bell Cab Co. had been the major cab company during the Depression and their rental fee was an agreed percentage of the income that the meter indicated at the end of each week.
Yes, DC initially had used meters to compute taxicab fares!
I can count on one hand how many politicians or reporters have ever tried their best to have that element become a common element of knowledge.
Judge Adkins very detailed decision (PURC 1932 pg.1) is the source of my coming to know that Bell Cab Co. had initially had a policy of requiring their drivers to agree to a certain percentage of their weekly income, as indicated on the meter, to be the weekly rental fee.
DC cab drivers and passengers of the 30's quickly came up with a trick and started to a practice of agreeing to a flat amount
while the driver did not engage the meter. Bell Cab Company started to lose alot of income and so without authority Bell Cab Co. took out the meters in their cabs and started to charge a flat rental fee while having their drivers using an unapproved "zone map" to compute their fares. Obtaining a copy of the Public Utilities Commission decision order no. 956
allowed me to know that through Sept. and Oct. of 1931 the PUC had held extensive public hearings before they issued order no. 956 and listed 20 reasons to,"deny any version of the zone system to replace the use of meters in DC taxicabs."
Let me take this opportunity to refer to just a few of the reasons that the PUC had listed over 70 years ago to, "deny any version of the zone system."
3. That the systems of zone taxicab fares now in use in the District of Columbia are entirely unsuitable for a city the size of Washington.( How big was DC in 1931?)
4.That no version of the zone system can be devised for this city which will make the charge commensurate with the service rendered. ( Please look up the word if not research the concept of "equity" if you're not familiar with it)
5. That under the zone fare system operators have frequently refused to render service where long hauls were involved.
6. That the zone fare system unduly favors certain passengers and unduly discriminates against others.(Who were
able to afford the comfort of taking DC taxicabs in this country in 1931?)
9. That proper accounting records cannot be secured under the zone system. (DC Taxicab Companies and drivers have
expressed their preferance to using the Zone System only due to the simple fact that for 75 years they haven't had their income reliably recorded and taxed!)We must at all times try our best not to confuse the alledged preferance of anyone in this matter.This country would not be where it is today if slavery, voting rights and many other issues,other than who will occupy the White House and Congress, were detemined by some unfortunate element of a mere preferance.(aka "their vote")
16. That the only system of taxicab charges which will be commensurate with service rendered, that will be fair to the proprietor and fair to the rider, is one based upon the length of the ride and that the taximeter is the only one which fulfills these condtions.
19. That taximeters can be secured and installed without undue expense. (Wow! They said this in 1931!)
Were the PUC and Judge Adkins in any manner referring to the need of Afro-American people in the overtly racist society of this country in 1931 when they refused any version of the zone system to replace the use of meters? It doesn't have to be Black History Month to ask,"Who was owning,renting or catching DC taxicabs during those days of unchallenged racism?
These days our brothers and sisters from other countries who are far from even being comfortably fluent with the English language have been been trained to only service "white" people in downtown DC. Many don't know the quickest way to provide service to the residential areas of NE and SE even if they had any idea of where Mississippi Ave or Minnesota Ave are located.
Mayors Washington, Barry, Kelly, Williams and now Fenty have refused to respect and enlighten the public that the DC taxicab zone system was only the result of a legislative trick from Congress that allowed them to add a "rider" on every insulting DC Appropriations Act and thus allow themselves the cheapest and most reliable taxicab service in the huge Zone One.
Over two years ago I delivered to Mayor Fenty, just as I have delivered to every DC Mayor and DC Council member since 1975,
copies of the still standing initial government decision by the DC Public Utilities Commission and two Court decisions that had initially denied,"any version of the zone system to replace the use of meters in DC taxicabs."
At that time Fenty was a member of Carol Schwartz's Public Works Committee. I submitted to Fenty's Chief of Staff copies of Judge Adkins decision which completely upheld every last aspect of PUC order no. 956. Judge Adkins had ruled on page 17 and 19 of his decision that,"the zone system is only a means to exploit the labor of the cab driver."
Every Congressional or local politician "addressing" this issue for more 75 years have wasted tens of millions of tax revenue in "studying" this issue and they have all come up with their unsupported version of "His Story" as a result rather ever professionally refer to the undeniable facts of History!
Judge Adkins decision was upheld by the Appeals Court. I find it fascinating that the system of Just-Us had the Appeals Court delay the enforcement of their decision until after Congress ruled on this matter.
To save me from writing a book about this issue right now allow me to share examples of the insulting inequity that results from the use of the zone system.
A passenger traveling for 15 minutes from the Rayburn House office building right down Pennsylvania Ave Se to Minnesota Ave will charge passengers a three zone fare. Another passenger traveling from that exact same point of origin can travel for close to 30 minutes to NBC studios on Nebraska Ave NE for the exact same three zone fare. A mother buying groceries at the Safeway at 4th and Rhode Island Ave in Ward 5 must pay a two zone fare to travel beyond 12th and Rhode Island Ave NE and a three zone fare if they go beyond South Dakota Ave NE. I am talking about one easy, quick ride right up Rhode Island Ave NE!
How dare the DC Council not ever have exposed the insulting inequitable dimension of having Alabama Ave SE,Atlantic St SE, 42nd St. NE and so many other random streets in all 8 Wards of DC to serve as zone boundaries and have passengers pay a two or three zone fare for easy, quick rides while guess who can go from Capital Hill to 22nd and Florida Ave NW for only a one zone charege?
Delegate Norton provided me a letter dated June 29,2001
that had her refuse to address this matter in any manner due to her insistence that this issue was not of any federal concern. Please contact me if your review of this effort,if not your more detailed review of the still standing government and Court decisions on this matter have not helped you to come to know that this entire matter would not have even come into existence had Congress respected the DC Public Utilities Commission and two Court supported decisions that specifically gave 20 detailed reasons why,"no version of the zone system can take the place of meters if DC taxicabs."
My testimony before the DC City Council has stimulated several strange responses. Allow me to share that the DC City Council have in my experience usually had only the Chair of each committee attending any public hearing of that "committee" and that DC City Council member Carol Schwartz sat there by herself as I finished my last testimony before her Public Works Committee last year.She tried to dismiss the merit of what I had presented by stating something to the effect of, "Well Mr. Rudder what you are presenting may be found to be more interesting to a History class. My concern is how we can best regulate the DC Taxicab Industry here and now. What happened 70 some years ago is not of my concern!"
I quickly replied,"Council member Schwartz I am very grateful
that the American people have never dismissed the merit of the Constitution and many other laws of this country merely due to the date in which they were issued."
This issue is far more complicated than merely being a free choice of either using a meter or a "zone system" to compute DC taxicab fares.
During these days when many of us often travel in packed Metro buses and subways it is about time that those who catch a cab pay for such a personal service. During these precious days of a brand new Century it is time that a corrupt means of computing DC taxicab fares be responsibly addressed for the benefit of DC residents, taxicab drivers and to our national and international tourists.

A simple effort at responsibly researching just how did Washington DC come to be the only major city in this entire world not using a meter is overdue. One need only call or go to the office of the DC Public Service Commission and request a copy of the DC Public Utilities Commission order no. 956 that was issued on November 6, 1931.
Obtaining a copy of this DC governmental decision would allow one to know that 20 specific reasons were listed by the DC Public Utilities Commission (later to be referred to as the Public Service Commission)in their denying, "any version of the zone system to replace meters in DC taxicabs."
Just a little further research will allow one to know that the governmental decision, that initially denied the zone system, was actually upheld by two Court decisions.
I am an Educator and I find these elements to being the A,B,C's of this issue. I will not insult any of my students and try to build their reading skills by not first making sure that they are fluent with the phonics of the Enlish alphabet.
Congress and the news media have joined together in not allowing any of the basic facts of this issue to be common knowledge. Congress and the news media have been assisted by subservient political bureaucrats by quietly and very happily spending tens of millions of dollars on the DC Taxicab Commission as well as many "studies" on this issue that strangely yet always failed to refer to the cause of this entire issue.
In approaching a responsible adult if not truly professional Doctor, lawyer,mechanic etc. the challenge will always be to responsibly researching an issue before they address that issue.
I am amazed that all appointed or elected Delegates, Mayors to DC, DC City Council members and even Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners all have an excuse for allowing white people in downtown DC to be receiving the most reliable and cheapest taxicab service. Their excuse is the classic,
"My name is Bennett and I ain't in it!"
Please find time to employ yourself to contact any at large DC City Council members of the ones representing a specific Ward, Mayor Fenty's office, Delegate Norton's office and ask them how have they ever employed their staff, if not themselves, at responsibly researching and effectively addressing this issue.

sohbet, chat, arkadaÅŸ

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Me: I think the Republicans right now sound like Jerome Armstrong in 2002 and 2004. "You're undersampling Republicans! We're going to beat them on turnout!"

Sk: Primarily because I don' trust the polls, I know that the MSM overpolls democrats by an enormous amount (often 10%, when the two parties are about split 40-40-, with around 20 independent), and the MSM is so grossly biased that they will spin anything to encourage a Democratic victory.

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