DC Taxicab Commission Sets Up Sting on Uber Car Service

On Friday the 13th the DC Taxicab Commission fined one unlucky driver for the hybrid car-limo service, Uber, claiming that Uber operates illegally because it charges for time and distance. Only taxis are allowed to charge for distance. The driver’s Towncar, which he owns, was impounded and the driver faces over $1,000 in fines.  

Rather than going after Uber itself, the sting operation targeted an individual driver, possibly in an effort to scare other drivers from working with Uber in the District of Columbia. The DC Taxicab Chairman personally participated in this sting operation.

You can read more about Uber at www.uber.com and more about this incident on DCist, http://bit.ly/AzAjqR and in the Washington Post, http://wapo.st/wglSBn .

What do you think? Should Uber, which lets you call for a car with your smartphone, be allowed to operate in the District of Columbia? Was this sting operation justified? Should the DC Taxicab Commission have gone after Uber and not an individual driver, who now faces massive fines? Should the law be changed to specifically allow services like Uber? You can comment below; you can also vote in the Cleveland Park Listserv poll on the subject (but you must be a registered Yahoo user and a listserv member to do so. Information on joining and getting access to the poll is on the listserv's FAQ page at http://bit.ly/cplistfaq.

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Results Are In For the January 3 Poll "What Bugs You About DC Taxicabs?"

The results of the Cleveland Park Listserv poll about taxis (results below) show that there's a lot of dissatisfaction with District of Columbia taxis. Of course, not everyone is dissatisfied with DC taxis, and not every taxi ride is an unpleasant or uncomfortable one.

When it comes to transportation options, more is better. Taxis work for some people sometimes, and a car service like Uber, www.uber.com, works for other people other times. While the DC Taxi Commission might like to limit the number of taxi alternatives, a little competition from a company like Uber wouldn't just provide other ways of getting around town, but it might inspire the Taxi Commission to improve the state of DC taxicabs.

It wasn't until June, 2008 that the Fenty administration finally forced DC taxis to use meters, rather than the confusing and oddball zone map system -- a welcome change in my opinion.

One of the changes proposed by Councilmember Cheh is to require that DC taxis accept credit cards. When this was proposed in New York, taxi drivers complained about the potential extra costs. But to drivers' benefit, passengers now tip more when they use credit cards than they did when the could only pay in cash.

Competition and change are often good when it comes to transportation. Uber should have a place in DC's transportation matrix, too.

--Bill Adler

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Taxi Poll Question (Poll Closed)

What bothers you most about DC taxis? When you step into a taxi (or try to hail one), what raises your stress level? What do you think needs to be changed, added, or fixed when it comes to taxis in the District of Columbia? You can vote for as many items as you want.

Results:

- No light on top indicating availability, 11.69%
- Doesn't take credit cards, 10.69%
- Dirty/smelly/beat-up taxis, 8.27%
- Drivers who don't know their way around DC, 10.48%
- I often feel like I'm getting ripped off, 7.06%
- Taxis need a uniform color, 4.03%
- Drivers who refuse to pick up passengers, 6.65%
- Too expensive, 5.24%
- Missing/broken seat belts, 4.23%
- Rude drivers, 5.65%
- Have to argue to get AC, 4.84%
- Drivers who talk or text while driving, 14.11%
- Drivers who speed & make other illegal moves, 7.06%

What Bugs You About DC Taxicabs?

Councilmembers Mary Cheh and Tommy Wells have introduced a bill to overhaul the District's taxis, the D.C. Taxicab Commission Service Improvement Amendment Act, http://bit.ly/uH00nE (PDF). Among the proposed changes are a uniform color for taxis, all taxis must have GPS, and taxis must accept credit cards.

What bothers you about DC taxis? What would you like to see changed or improved the most? The Cleveland Park Listserv is running a poll on this subject. You have to be a listserv member to vote, but you can join by clicking on the blue "Join This Group" button at www.cleveland-park.com. You do not have to live in Cleveland Park to become a member of the listserv.

Once you are subscribed --and have also registered your subscribed email address with Yahoo, which gives you full access to all the web features of the group-- you can vote in the poll at http://yhoo.it/saZBiB or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cleveland-park/polls.

There's more information about how the Cleveland Park Listserv works on the FAQ page.

Recommended: Car and Driver

Our companion email list, the Cleveland Park Listserv, is a treasure trove of recommendations. We want to share on All Life Is Local, on a periodic basis, the best recommendations that have been posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv. You'll be able to search All Life Is Local for "contractor," "plumber," "computer tech," "auto body shop" -- whatever you need.


Mesfin Amare is fantastic. He drives a town car and frequently works for embassies and such and is also the nicest, most responsible human being in the world, and that is no hyperbole. He can be reached at 301-329-4433.

Recommended: Car Service

Our companion email list, the Cleveland Park Listserv, is a treasure trove of recommendations. We want to share on All Life Is Local, on a periodic basis, the best recommendations that have been posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv. You'll be able to search All Life Is Local for "contractor," "plumber," "computer tech," "auto body shop" -- whatever you need.

I use a wonderful messenger service called Transtime Express. Tell them exactly what you want and request a driver with a nice car. They have delivered my mom to doctors appointments, my pet to the vet and driven me to several out of the way places for reasonable prices. Call 301-652-6662. Ask for Ben or Ali.

Forced Ride-Sharing at Union Station: Is It the Rule?

A frequent Union Station taxi customer reported on her frustration at being forced into shared rides in violation of the cab-sharing rules that are supposed to be in force at Union Station.  Here is her story, which she first reported on the Cleveland Park Listserv:

There's a big scam underway at the Station. The drivers and dispatchers have turned upside-down the rule enabling you to ride from there with a friend to two drop-offs (it's apparently the only DC location where you can ask for two drop-offs). Instead, they're forcing passengers to share cabs with complete strangers, often not headed in your direction, and you're both required to pay full fare from the Station.

I've had two troubling situations recently. The first time I didn't know the law. The second, after having spoken with the taxi authority and having been told we have the right to decline a shared ride there (and that dispatchers are prohibited from getting involved), I informed the dispatcher and driver that I knew what they were doing was illegal. The dispatcher then informed me he'd refuse to let me enter any cab if I didn't comply.

On both occasions I was a single woman with luggage traveling at night, so my alternatives were few. I was first forced to go to the West End with two sketchy men and the second time to Adams Morgan on a Saturday night. (I live on Connecticut Avenue near the Zoo.) Both times the drivers freaked out on me about my objections and then, seeing me write down their numbers, suggested we negotiate lesser fares off the meter. I formally reported both cabs and the second dispatcher and was told they would be investigated, but I can't get an update.

Not only are the drivers doing this in violation of District taxi laws but the dispatchers, who are either DC or Station employees, are committing fraud. I'm on Amtrak frequently and have started booking returns arriving before dark so I can bypass cabs and take the Metro. But obviously thousands of people are getting ripped off.