It's Not Just About Meters

D.C. Taxicab Network Needs an Overhaul and Better Enforcement

Say "D.C. taxis" and a chorus of litanies erupts. Anyone who has ridden in one of our taxis has more than a little bit to say. In a 2004 New York Times Magazine article, "Washington: Some of My Favorite Things," Claire Messud writes about our city's great restaurants and increasingly chic urbanity but also about D.C. taxicabs: "The supremely illogical zone system, the disconcerting oddity of multiple customers with multiple destinations, crammed into a single cab; and the eccentricity of the drivers, whose knowledge of the city may be tenuous at best."

Restaurants, hotels and tourist destinations rely heavily on our taxi fleet as the front-line ambassadors for visitors to our city. It is imperative that the District revamp the taxi industry to maintain efficient, reliable and reasonable modes of transportation for visiting tourists and business travelers. But this is not just about visitors to our city; this is also of critical importance to all residents.

Read the full editorial here.