An employee of Ace Auto shop explains how the new time/distance meter works to a DC cab driver
© AFP Tim Sloan

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Taxi drivers battled the city government for months to defend their cherished zone system, in which they charge customers depending on how many geographic sectors they travel through.

But a judge last month upheld Mayor Adrian Fenty's decision to order taxis to install meters. The cabbies now have until May 31 to install the meters and face a 1,000-dollar fine if they fail to do so after that.

"Welcome to the 21st century," said Page, a taxi customer in her 40s who like many in this city were unhappy with the unique zone system. "It's a great idea. That's the way it's set up in all major cities."

About 50 taxis were lining up recently to buy the 400-dollar meters at a shop in northeast Washington.

"The mayor is destroying 7,000 families," said one driver who refused to give his name, referring to the number of Washington taxis. "I'm really upset."

Cabbies complained that the meters cost the equivalent of three to four days worth of fares.

Cab drivers gather around an employee of Ace Auto shop handing out the new time/distance meters
© AFP Tim Sloan

The change, ordered by Fenty last October, ends a system that divided the city into 23 zones -- a confusing maze for visitors from countries or other US cities used to cabs with meters.

Some Washington residents were comfortable with the geographic system.

"I like the zone system because I know what my fare is going to be," said L. Bertrand, 24, who works in communications. "I hope they can maybe switch back."

Under the zone system, a 45-minute trip through crawling traffic but limited to one sector can be cheaper than a five-minute drive through multiple zones. For instance, a single passenger pays 6.50 dollars for one zone, 8.80 dollars for two, 11 dollars for three, and so on.

And it is common for a taxi driver with a client in his car to stop to pick up another customer who might be headed to the same zone -- a practice that can irritate customers.

"Once you put the meter in, that's it. The meter kills all that," said C. Dupree, 71, who has driven a cab for 40 years.

Dupree defended the zone system, saying that compared to New York's yellow cabs, DC's taxis cover a much smaller area. "There is a 100-mile (160-kilometers) radius in NY, 10-12 miles (16-19 km) in DC," he said.

The city has set the base meter rate at three dollars.

"We should never have been striking about meters but against rates," Dupree said.

"This rate is peanuts," said one cab driver who refused to give his name. "Everything is going up: gas, food, etc."

Preston Johnson, 62, who has driven a taxi since he was 20 years old, said he would comply with the new law. But he warned that the three-dollar base rate would hurt cabbies: "I think some will be forced to quit."

Assad Siddiqui, manager of the meter installation company DC Express, said hundreds of taxis a day have been getting the meters in recent days, creating a shortage that forced him to stock up on meters at the last minute.

"What's the rush?" asked the owner of a shop next door as irritated taxi drivers honked their horns in the increasingly clogged, narrow northeast street. "There should be no panic."

©AFP