D.C.'s cabs are notoriously terrible. Until relatively recently, the city used a "zone system" to determine fares, allowing unscrupulous cabbies to rip off tourists and locals alike by lying about how many zones had been traveled through. They had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into using time-and-distance meters, like every single cab I've ever been in in every other city I've ever been to. And until very recently, one couldn't pay for a cab with a credit card, a basic amenity in virtually every major city I've ever visited.
D.C. also has the same problems every other city has with their cabs: drivers frequently refuse to take people where they want to go, in violation of the law; when you call ahead for one, odds are it won't show, especially if you live in a "dangerous" part of town; drivers routinely avoid picking up black passengers; and they drive like maniacs, weaving in and out of traffic when they're not doing 10 mph in the righthand lane trying to pick up fares on major avenues.
But the cabbies have figured out how to fight back and really stick it to their customers: They're going to join the Teamsters! They're also busy figuring out just why the D.C. Taxi Commission is making them modernize their hacks. See if you can guess what they think the reason is:
Like many of the drivers in the room, Tapscott took issue with the costs levied on drivers for modernization projects, like credit card readers and new dome lights.
He also questioned aloud whether race played a part in the Council's decision making regarding taxi drivers. "Are they prejudiced?" Tapscott asked of certain Councilmembers. "I don't know." This elicited many responses from the crowd, including one from a man who shouted "They're ignorant."
Jeff Farmer, Teamsters director of organizing, said that over 1,000 drivers had joined the Taxi Operators Association. (Updated numbers should come in this morning.) Verbally the group agreed to pay $25 a month in dues. They also agreed on a plan of action that includes meeting with Mayor Vince Gray, pushing for an emergency resolution in the Council for a moratorium on new regulations and attending the next DCTC meeting in November.
Emphasis mine, because, yes, requiring cabs in D.C. to behave like cabs in every other first world city is probably—nay, obviously—motivated by racism, you idiotic clods. God. You are the worst.
Anyway, maybe now you get a sense why so many people in D.C. have embraced Uber, the slightly costlier black car service that allows you to order a car by phone. It's somewhat ironic that the cabbies are complaining so vociferously about the D.C. Taxi Commission, given the fact that the D.C. government tried its hardest to strangle the Uber-baby in the crib. My quibbles with their pricing schemes aside, I'm a big fan of the company and thrilled that they're providing an alternate option for passengers tired of D.C.'s failed cab system.
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