to the cab to which it was affixed, it could discourage retirement of vehicles and a modern fleet. This cost would have to be recognized in fares, and it would add ten or fifteen cents to the cost of each ride. If imposition of a ceiling on the number of cabs in the District is the objective, a specific number should be determined after study, since quantifying the effect of the $500 charge in advance is impossible. Taxicabs are presently required to be equipped with a roof light which must be turned on when the driver is available. There fore, lighting the medallion would not seem to be necessary to indicate on-duty status. Finally, also, we note that this subsection is not tied to the effective date for installation of meters. It therefore would appear to become a requirement automatically upon the effective date of the Act itself. Section 4. Establishment of System. Subsection (b) requires the Commission to adopt rules establishing a meter system by January 1, 1976, with an effective date of not later than February 15, 1976. Subsection (c) authorizes the Commission to set rates for meters after January 1, 1976. We do not know whether sufficient lead time exists to accomplish all that the bill requires to be accomplished by February 15, 1976. Nor do we know whether the large number of meters which would be required for the District taxicabs (there are approximately 9,000 cabs) are readily available at this time, or whether adequate facilities exist for the installation of the meters within this period, or whether a meter maintenance capability exists or could be created timely. Section 5. Further Rule-Making. The Council should be aware of the December 1974 report of the Mayor's Taxicab Service Task Force relating to improvements in enforcement of rules relating to the industry. Section 6. Penalties. The penalties prescribed are very inflexible; the words "up to" should be inserted before "90 days" and "$1,000". Section 7. Legal Matters. Repeal of Section 1-223 of the D. C. Code as provided in subsection (a) is recommended as a clarification of jurisdiction. THE WASHINGTON POST P. B-2 Agencies, Drivers Divided on Shift to Taxicab Meter System which goes for general operat based on a flat charge at the emergency taxicab committee. recommended By Linda Newton Jones Washington Post Staff Writer Members of the District of uniform mileage rates. Columbia's taxicab industry "It (the bill) was never and government agencies reg. meant to protect the cab-riding passengers," said Irving ulating them want changes Schlaifer. chairman of the made in the city's present zone fare system. But they are sharply divided about supplanting it with a meter system, according to testimony before a 1.C. City Council "mileage rate zone system," a committee yesterday. Zone system based on straight Studies last year by both line measurements from one the D.C. public Service Com. point to another, as the most mission and a special task equitable system for both pas force appointed by the mayor sengers and drivers. suggested that taxi service Witnesses testifying against would be improved through the meter system said it would modifications in the zone sys reduce the number of drivers tem and increased enforce in the city, estimated at about ment of laws governing the 3,000 full- and part-time driv industry. Neither study sawlers; force independent operany significant benefits in a ators out of the industry and meter system. encourage the takeover of city cab service by large companies. "Meters and limitations are not necessarily bad," Douglas N. Schneider, Jr.. the city's transportation systems coordi nator, said during the hearing by the public service and consumer affairs committee. "However, the District has developed a different system and we do not believe the case for abandoning that system is sufficiently strong." the task force committee chairman con tinued. "I don't care who runs the industry as long as I can make a decent living," said part-time driver Joe Mack. Mack and others favoring second) that would abolish the about $5 an hour, half of: commission, more than 80 per In a related action. the According to D.C. depart- Metro representatives and Jr. C-2 The Washington Star Saturday, June 28, 1975 Meters Prevent Cheating, Hacker Tells D.C. Council By Corrie M. Anders Washington Star Staff Writer Joe Mack has been a District taxi driver for eight years and has seen a lot of wrongs during that time as he drove his Radio Flash cab around city streets. He has seen the indignities, not to mention the frustrations, of bypassed blacks who were heading toward Anacostia, taxis raising their off-duty signs to avoid rush-hour traffic, and drivers cheating both the riding public and the tax men. The way Mack explained it yesterday before a District Council committee on consumer affairs, all of this could be avoided if meters were installed in the estimated 8,000 taxis operating in the District. AND, MORE importantly, those little gadgets that show you exactly how much your fare is would give drivers better wages while helping to improve services, he said. hearings on a bill, introduced by the committee chairman, John Wilson of Ward 2, that would require meters to replace the current zone system. The bill also would require the owner of each cab to pay $500 for a "medallion" before the vehicle could operate legally in the District. The meters cost about $300. Washington is the only major urban area in the nation where taxicabs do not use meters to determine fares. Taxi pricing policies were set by Congress before the advent of home rule last year. MOST OF the independent drivers say Wilson's proposal would hurt service and significantly reduce the number of taxis because owner-drivers would not be able to afford the $800 for a meter and medallion. Both the Public Service Commis the mayor's transportation sion and Doug Schneider, posed the bill. system coordinator, op "There's only one place The Consumer Affairs for the taxi meter and that Committee held day-long is the bottom of the Poto mac River," Irving Schlaifer, chairman of the Emer gency Taxicab Committee, said. Operators of large fleets, however, were principally in favor of the bill's concept. One of the bill's professed aims is to provide an economic incentive for drivers to pick up passengers des tined for Far Southeast or Far Northeast, knowing they will receive fares higher than under the zone system. COUNCILMAN Douglas Mack, an independent driver, said the reason most other independents do not favor the meter system is because they rake a lot of money off the top which is never reported to the Internal Revenue Service. Under District criminal and traffic laws a driver polices himself by keeping a list of the starting point, destination, time, and fare of every trip made. Mack said federal and the local treasuries were losing millions of dollars because "the drivers maintain since they must work under bad rules designed to keep them in economic slavery, they will not justify that system by paying their fair share of income taxes." LESTER GARTON, associate director of the D.C Department of Finance and Revenue, admitted that there have been problems with taxi drivers underreporting their income. "It's an area that is extremely hard to police," Garton said, adding that his department soon will conduct a test audit of 1974 in. come reported by taxi drivers. Drivers currently make about $4.50 an hour gross for trips within the District and their expenses are about $2.25 an hour The Public Service Commission is considering a request to raise fares to give drivers an $8.25 per hour gross in come. 69-312 - 7623 PROPOSED REVISION OF TAXIMETER BILL (#1-99) 1. Switch entire role of the Public Service Commission in regards to taxicabs, to the newly formed D.C. Department of Transportation. The Public Service a. rate hearings and rate-setting (a rate decision should be required every two years) b. operating rules c. review of insurance rates 2. Revise meter system as proposed in the bill to allow 3. for waiting time on the meter. Eliminate medallions, and require the owner of the cab to also own the meter and to be the holder of the cab automobile-taxicab registration. 4. Maximum of 11,500 registrations at any one time (slightly |