Cabbing it to the Rock & Roll Hotel from Adams Morgan may get more expensive under a plan approved by Mayor Adrian Fenty this morning. However, taking a taxi down the hill to the Black Cat from your 18th Street perch will prove cheaper than it is today underneath Fenty's proposed switch from zone to meters.
The District of Columbia has long employed a zone-system that charges a flat rate per zone - whether a passenger travels one block of forty. Getting from Dupont Circle to a bar across town on Capitol Hill would only cost the lowest one-zone fare of $6.50 while taking a cab only two blocks north - and across a zone line - would run the tab up to $8.80.
The zone system proved unpopular with visitors who seemed easily confused by it, and who would sometimes find themselves ripped off without knowing it. District residents have long employed motherly advice to visiting friends on how to survive the zone system: "Make sure you tell the cabbie that you want to get off at Connecticut and S - and not 'Johnny Rockets' so he thinks that you're a local...and remember it is only one zone, so don't let him charge you more."
Participating in the zone system did prove a pleasure for many District residents, and it was widely thought that Mayor Fenty would settle on the compromise of switching to a GPS-tracked zone system so that passengers could not be charged for more zones than what was traveled.
"By switching to time and distance meters, we meet the needs of the residents and standardize the experience for every taxi passenger,” said Fenty in a press statement. "“As we work to become a world-class city, it is essential that all aspects of District government are user friendly, fair and efficient for residents and visitors alike."
Fenty did not indicate when the new system would take effect. However, with the sunset of the zone system, passengers will also see the demise of one of the best local perks: those blank taxi receipts that can be filled out with whatever amount desired to be reimbursed by employers.
Mr. T stars in the forgettable flick DC Cab
Previously in I Heart DC:
- 5/24: DC NEWS YOU CAN (MAYBE) USE...
- 5/23: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 5/23: BYT Patio and Outdoor Dining Guide - Spring/Summer 2012
- 5/22: DC NEWS YOU CAN (MAYBE) USE...
- 5/21: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 5/21: PHOTOS: Artomatic 2012 Opening
- 5/18: DC NEWS YOU CAN (MAYBE) USE...
- 5/17: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 5/16: D.C. NEWS YOU CAN (MAYBE) USE...
- 5/16: Photos: Dance In The Circle @ Dupont Circle
God loves a cheerful giver.
considering that i live 1 block up from the U street zone change, and was perpetually too lazy to walk that extra block to save a dollar 50 every time, I salute this.
Fenty may be mayor for life after this.
I've lived in DC since early 1998 and I think I've taken a cab a total of about 15 times. 12 of them when I worked at the CNN building at Union Station and would get off work after the Metro had closed.
I did have a car when I got here, a 1976 Pontiac but sold it on the street for cash in a sketchy neighborhood in NE when I got lost once about 3 weeks after arriving. I imagine it's got some spinners and 22s on it now.
er, 16 times. I forgot I took one home the other week after being arrested so I could still make it to work at a reasonable hour.
Alas, the only things DC about the movie DC Cab were the zone system (shown on screen in full detail - no less) and the drug dealer with a nice car on U St.
I changed that to read "Mr. T stars in the forgettable flick DC Cab"
i take a cab two zones every morning to work. its 10 bucks and so easy to flag one down. my fear is that there will be less cabs in dc because of the meter requirement
Grace if you take a cue the girl from the latest photo array then you shouldn't have a problem
Man, that photo set is the gift that keeps on giving.