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Cabs hard to catch as drivers strike
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Travelers wait in line for cabs outside Union Station.
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Bewildered travelers faced 30-minute waits for taxis Wednesday as drivers in the District of Columbia held a 24-hour Halloween strike to protest the mayor's decision to require meters in cabs.
At Union Station, the line for taxis reached several dozen people as morning trains from New York City and other points arrived. A dispatcher called out destinations to encourage people to share the scarce cabs, and unlicensed drivers trolled the back of the line for potential passengers.
At downtown hotels, doormen said they were steering more of their business to limousine companies to fill the gap.
It was impossible to gauge exactly how many cab drivers were participating in the strike, but the head of one major cab company said it was operating with just 25 percent of its fleet. Officials with the Taxicab Industry Group, one of several organizations representing drivers, had predicted a majority of the city's approximately 7,500 drivers would stay off the streets on Halloween, a traditionally high-volume day.
Cabs could still be found downtown, just not as readily. But the real test was expected to come at night because of Halloween. Revelers have traditionally flocked to Georgetown, a neighborhood with no subway stop.
But Mayor Adrian M. Fenty told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he believed the city would have no trouble managing. He noted that D.C. "has some transportation alternatives" for commuters and tourists, including the Metro subway system and buses.
The strike took D.C. resident Shown Marshall by surprise. She had hoped to catch a cab because she was running late for work.
"But now I'm going to get out of this line," she said, turning to walk to the Metro station. "This is terrible."
Roy D. Spooner, general manager of Yellow Cab Co. of D.C., said most drivers affiliated with his company seemed to be taking part in the strike.
"We're at about 25 percent strength right now," he said. The company has a total fleet of 600, though only 300 of those are computer dispatched and can be tracked from the main office.
Like the striking drivers, Yellow Cab opposes the switch to meters. Still, the company was accepting calls for taxis Wednesday.
"We respect the drivers' right to strike," Spooner said. "We still have an obligation to serve the public."
Meanwhile, Metro said the subway would close at its usual time of midnight and had no plans to increase the number of trains.
"We will monitor throughout the afternoon and evening and we can make adjustments as necessary, based on demand," said Steven Taubenkibel, a spokesman for the transit agency.
A nonprofit group was still planning to provide free cab rides for Halloween revelers.
"We've actually done a fair amount of work on this, and I think we have enough contingencies in place," said Kurt Erickson, president of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, which operates the SoberRide program throughout the Washington area.
At the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, head doorman Carleton Richards said he had steered some business to limo companies.
But compared with D.C.'s last taxi strike in 2004, "I would say this one is a lot more manageable," Richards said.
That strike was just 12 hours long, but the issue was the same. Then-Mayor Anthony A. Williams was planning a pilot program to put meters in cabs in order to ultimately do away with the city's longtime fare system, in which the price of a ride depends on geographic zones.
Williams did not end up doing away with the much-criticized zone system, but Fenty has said he will. He announced Oct. 17 that he will go along with a provision passed by Congress to abolish zones and require meters like those used in every other major U.S. city. The provision gave Fenty the option to opt out of the switch, but forced him to make a choice one way or the other.
However, the details of the change have not been worked out.
William J. Wright, head of the Taxicab Industry Group and one of the strike's organizers, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday. In the past, taxi drivers have said they oppose the switch to meters because they fear it will make long rides more expensive and lead to a loss of business. And they say it will make it easier for big companies to dominate the business, forcing out many independent operators.
Fenty stood by his decision.
"We did a lot of research and listening in this process," he said.
Taxi drivers in New York City have held two strikes this fall. The walkouts there were a response to new regulations that require the installation of new equipment that would let passengers watch TV, pay with credit cards and check their location using a global-positioning system. Those strikes did not cause major disruptions.
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Associated Press Writer Brett Zongker contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
