10.09.2007

Wanna Bet?

"There are mixed positions, but I can assure you the great majority of drivers are unhappy at the thought of meters," [Cab Driver Degarge Lakew] said. "Not because we're going to lose money, but because the whole business is going to be affected."

There's going to be an anti-meter rally at Freedom Plaza at 2:00pm today. I may check it out on my lunch break.

As for the article, cry me a fucking river. I don't need the Post guilt-tripping me because cabbies will lose their ability to rip me off every Friday night.
Posted by Rusty at 9:20 AM

8 comments:

  1. JamesOctober 09, 2007

    How will they lose that ability?

    With the zone system, I know right down to the penny how much it costs to drive between my apartment and my favorite bars, restaurants, friends places, etc.

    With meters, it will be a crapshoot totally dependent on the traffic situation.

    The only people getting ripped off by zones are tourists who dont know where the lines are drawn. I'm perfectly ok with this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RustyOctober 09, 2007

    "The only people getting ripped off by zones are tourists who dont know where the lines are drawn. I'm perfectly ok with this."

    Count me among those people. I have no idea where the lines are drawn. I don't cab very often, so I use that space in my brain to hold useless baseball statistics.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kristen S.October 09, 2007

    One good thing I've found about the zone system is the felxibility in negotiating with cabbies. Many a time I have told a driver "this is how much money I have", and they have agreed to take me to my destination for that price, even if it's a buck or two less than the zone fare.

    I agree that with meters, you're subject to the gawdawful traffic around here. Hell, I'd think cabbies would be in favor of it....more traffic, more money.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JamesOctober 09, 2007

    Well Rusty, baseball stats are fine, but it really isn't that hard to figure out how much it should cost to take cabs where you need to go. The zone maps are available online and in the cabs.

    You live in Friendship, so wherever you're taking cabs home from, whether it's dupont, columbia heights, downtown, RFK or anywhere else, it's not difficult to know how much the fare is.

    I'm up in Glover Park these days, so unless I want to wait a half hour for the D2 or 32 bus, I'll flag down a cab on Wisconsin. As I said, I already know exactly how much it costs to take me to any of the places I'm bound to go on a weekend. And as Kristen said, you can get your fare before you start driving. That gives the cabbie incentive to get you there quickly, since he doesn't make any more money sitting in traffic or taking you on some bullshit "alternate route."

    As for the cabbies and their agenda, it seems like they just want to be left alone. I can relate.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rae Carruth's TrunkOctober 09, 2007

    The good news about a meter? No one will have any idea about the price and will be able to drive you around the long way to run up charges, this means when you are filing your expense report, no one will have a clue if your receipts are complete bullshit or not.

    ReplyDelete
  6. DC Commuter GirlOctober 09, 2007

    This is an awesome blog, love it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownOctober 09, 2007

    I know the idea of leaving DC for any reason is not wildly popular in this forum (though the forum is supposedly about hating DC) but meters make it much more predictable to get back/forth from DC to Maryland or VA.

    And yes, despite all here resenting the presence of those who sleep on beds in MD & VA, we make up a big 'ol chunk of DC's GDP and entertainment revenues.

    Lose us and you pay for the stadium only with revenues from the good people of NW.

    ReplyDelete
  8. HRH King Friday XIII, Ret.October 09, 2007

    That article is a bit of a tear-jerker. Why is it that Ethipoians are always guilt tripping me into giving them more money?

    ReplyDelete

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