Obsidian Potency 3.0
Zones To Meters
posted Friday, 19 October 2007
Yesterday, D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty ordered all D.C. taxis to switch from the ancient zone fare system to a system of rate meters in all their taxis. He was pressured to do so in part by congressman Carl Levin, a longtime opponent of the zone system. For those who have never taken a cab in DC, the city is split into several zones radiating out from the center. Each time a cab crossed a zone, the fare went up. Traveling in one zone only (without crossing into another one) cost $6.50.
There are pluses and minuses to this system. The positives are that you usually don't pay for sitting in traffic (even though they could charge you) -- and that savvy (and I mean very savvy) customers could minimize their costs by getting out at the borders of certain zones.
But the downsides are much more numerous. Congressmen and ordinary citizens have long reported that they are constantly charged different amounts for the same ride. The zone borders fall on obscure streets as often as they fall on main roads. And the minimum fare -- $6.50 -- is pretty damn high for a major city. There is virtually no paper trail, and cabbies write everything down by hand. This is convenient for them, but creates an oversight nightmare.
Interestingly, cabbies have been somewhat split in their reaction to the decision. The official cab representation organizations are calling for a strike. Whatever. Number one, they won't strike for more than a day. Number two, enough people in DC have cars and take the Metro that any strike wouldn't have the same impact as it would in, say, New York.
Ultimately, I think the cab groups protesting this switch are frightened by the prospect of change. And of the prospect of not having to report all their earnings, probably...not to mention the fact that they can arbitrarily charge. But the cabbies in favor of the switch say that customers will be happier, and passengers will know they aren't being ripped off. In the end, this is an easy way for Fenty to give the people what they want: a transparent fare system.
There are pluses and minuses to this system. The positives are that you usually don't pay for sitting in traffic (even though they could charge you) -- and that savvy (and I mean very savvy) customers could minimize their costs by getting out at the borders of certain zones.
But the downsides are much more numerous. Congressmen and ordinary citizens have long reported that they are constantly charged different amounts for the same ride. The zone borders fall on obscure streets as often as they fall on main roads. And the minimum fare -- $6.50 -- is pretty damn high for a major city. There is virtually no paper trail, and cabbies write everything down by hand. This is convenient for them, but creates an oversight nightmare.
Interestingly, cabbies have been somewhat split in their reaction to the decision. The official cab representation organizations are calling for a strike. Whatever. Number one, they won't strike for more than a day. Number two, enough people in DC have cars and take the Metro that any strike wouldn't have the same impact as it would in, say, New York.
Ultimately, I think the cab groups protesting this switch are frightened by the prospect of change. And of the prospect of not having to report all their earnings, probably...not to mention the fact that they can arbitrarily charge. But the cabbies in favor of the switch say that customers will be happier, and passengers will know they aren't being ripped off. In the end, this is an easy way for Fenty to give the people what they want: a transparent fare system.
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