WASHINGTON (Map, News) - With three weeks remaining until all D.C. cabs are required to power up their time and distance meters, few of the city’s roughly 7,000 licensed taxi drivers have had the equipment installed in their vehicles.

Drivers still haven’t been told where or how to have the work done, and the D.C. Taxicab Commission’s Web site does not list the names of licensed meter installers. The taxi industry appears unprepared to ditch the zone system come May 1 in lieu of the meters used in virtually every major U.S. city.

There are only three shops where the meters can be installed, a city official said.

A man who answered the phone Thursday at one of them, National Taxi Meters on Edwin Street Northeast, said the business hasn’t installed more than “20 or 30” meters.

“You cannot do it all in one day,” the man said.

Drivers are likely procrastinating as a D.C. Superior Court judge debates whether to slap an injunction on the switch, Leon Swain, D.C. Taxicab Commission chairman, told The Examiner.

“What I’ve basically been hearing, a lot of people are waiting to see what the decision’s going to be before they make a $500 investment,” Swain said.

Opponents of time and distance meters claim that Mayor Adrian Fenty lacked the authority to set the rules and rates for the new system without the approval of the eight-member Taxicab Commission. Judge Brook Hedge, who heard arguments late last month, promised to rule quickly but has yet to issue her decision.

“I think the combination of the anticipation of that decision and the fact that nobody is much pressing them to do anything creates a certain amount of lethargy about this,” said Ward 1 D.C. Councilman Jim Graham, who has oversight of taxi issues.

Audrey Fix Schaefer, spokeswoman for the D.C. Professional Taxicab Drivers’ Association, confirmed that drivers are in no rush to have the equipment installed as they await the judge’s ruling. The drivers behind the suit say they prefer zone meters, which use Global Positioning System technology to accurately track zone fares.

Swain said the meter implementation date remains May 1 despite what might be a mad rush to the service bays. He acknowledged, however, “looking at different plans” just in case.

mneibauer@dcexaminer.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

8:55 AM MST on Tue., May. 6, 2008 re: "Few D.C. cabs ready as meter deadline looms"

Karl Rudder said:
On November 6, 1931 the DC Public Utilities Commission issued order no. 956 and listed 20 reasons to, "deny any version of the zone system to replace meters in DC taxicabs." (Free copy of PUC order no. 956 available by calling the Public Service Commission) Congress passed insulting legislation that forced the use of the zone system ("The Taxicab Rider" Wash. Post editorial 11/13/71) regardless of the fact that Judge Adkins completely upheld PUC order no. 956 (PUR 1932C pg 1) and the Appeals Court upheld Judge Adkins decision. The DC City Council has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars in maintaining the DC Taxicab Commission since 1987 just as Congress had created the DCTC and now the installation of meters in DC cabs is being persistently presented as merely an element of liking of Mayor Fenty. I have testified before the DC City Council since 1975 to make issue of the still standing court decisions to expose the fact that the DC taxicab zone system had not ever been approved!

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9:57 AM MST on Mon., May. 5, 2008 re: "Few D.C. cabs ready as meter deadline looms"

Karl Rudder said:
My address to the unique DC Taxicab Zone System has always been based on the basic, undeniable yet little known facts. Fact 1 - Meters were the original means that were used to compute taxicab fares in the District of Columbia. Fact 2 - The "zone system" was denied by the DC Public Utilities Commission for 20 reasons when they issued PUC order no. 956 on 11/6/31. (Free copy of PUC order no. 956 is available by calling the DC Public Service Commission) Fact 3 - The decision by the DC Public Utilities Commission was completely upheld by Judge Adkins (1932 PUR volC page 1) and Judge Adkins decision was upheld by the DC Appeals Court. (1932 75 F2d 1005) Fact 4 - The District of Columbia is the only major city in this country that does not use a meter to equitably compute taxicab fares as well as serve as a reliable means to record the income and compute the taxes due from local taxicab companies and drivers. Fact 5 - Reason no. 9 on PUC order no. 956 stated: "That proper account

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8:02 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 22, 2008 re: "Judge backs taxis� switch to meters"

Examiner Reader said:
As a D.C. resident who is excited to be able to economically ride taxis again, I say "hallelujah." The taxi industry's attempts to convince people that time-and-distance meters will result in higher prices are laughable.

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7:53 PM MST on Fri., Feb. 8, 2008 re: "Group: More cabbie strikes ahead"

Billy Ray Edwards said:
I know why you censored my comment on the DC taxicab issue,all one has to do is check Mayor Fenty,Campain finance you will find out the Mayor took money from VA and MD taxicab CO.

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10:59 AM MST on Tue., Feb. 5, 2008 re: "Group: More cabbie strikes ahead"

hurricanewarningdc said:
I feel no sympathy for the cab drivers. None at all. The problem isn't that they'll make less money on the meter system than the zone system. Rather, the problem is that since most cabbies are crooks (in my experience and the experience of every person I know who lives in or visits DC), the meter system will reduce the extra money that they were pocketing illegally. They'll likely make more money with more rides via meter... but if you tack on what they were getting for the false charges for extra zones, baggage fees, etc, some will definitely lose out. As a consumer, all I can say is "bravo."

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12:41 PM MST on Thu., Jan. 17, 2008 re: "Fenty announces cuts to cab fares"

Steve said:
Thank you, Mayor, not only for the meters but making sure that they are reasonable. How DC cabs think they deserve higher than New York ones is beyond me. And do they really think the strike will cripple the city? Guess what. We consumers can strike, too. No tips until this is resolved.

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12:44 PM MST on Fri., Oct. 12, 2007 re: "D.C. cabdrivers want residency exemption extended further"

Billy Ray Edwards said:
It should not be a decission of the mayor on meters in this unique histrocal taxicabs system in DC and the residents should have right to make this decission though referedum with the vote.

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8:34 AM MST on Thu., Jun. 28, 2007 re: "New maps for cabs but eye is on meters"

recyclist said:
Let's switch to meters already!!! It's simply ridiculous that we are still clinging to this unfair and arbitrary zone system. And while we're at it, let's get rid of the fuel surcharge and replace it with a per-mile or per-minute fuel rate increase. Why should a person taking a 1-mile trip pay the same fuel surcharge as someone traveling from NW to SE? Let the users pay the actual costs of their cab rides.

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