Power Grid Blog
DC Taxi Cab Confessionals
July 9, 2012 | Joshua Benjamin
Tomorrow, the DC Council will vote on the Taxicab Commission Service Improvement Amendment Act of 2012 (Bill 19-630). The bill mandates that taxicab companies take steps to make 10% of their fleets wheelchair accessible — a weak percentage at best.
Weak, because it puts only 650 wheelchair-accessible taxis on the road. Weak because it provides one accessible taxicab for every 923 DC residents, compared to today’s ratio of one conventional taxicab for every 92 DC residents.
Weak, because it is not 100%.
In 2010, the District of Columbia purchased 20 wheelchair-accessible taxicabs to be operated by two private companies. That number remains the same today; those 20 cabs comprise 0.3% of DC’s entire fleet.
Thousands of DC cab drivers have planned a Tuesday-morning protest across from the DC Council to fight the Act’s passage. Cab drivers are concerned with the costs of the bill’s reforms, which, in addition to accessible taxicabs, include mandating the installation of credit card readers and a uniform exterior color among cabs.
But here’s the catch: Not only will the law implement a 50-cent fare surcharge to cover new costs; under the law, the DC Taxicab Commission will offer grants, loans, and other financial incentives to offset the costs of new reforms. Additionally, surveys report that insurance costs are the same for accessible and non-accessible taxis. The only factors that oscillate insurance premiums are drivers’ own records.
Perhaps most ignored by opponents of the bill is the fact that, since 2010, in those 20 cabs, over 6,000 trips have been made by people who use wheelchairs. That’s a huge amount of revenue that hitherto would not have been generated without accessible cabs, and a huge amount of potential revenue if all cabs become accessible.
In the United Kingdom, London requires 100% of its licensed taxis to be wheelchair-accessible. More than that, London’s taxis contain induction loops and intercoms for people using hearing aids, and are equipped to carry, at no extra charge, assistance dogs for the blind.
And DC thinks 10% is innovative.
London’s taxi modernizations were implemented in the 1980s — today, the UK’s taxis account for 4.5% of all journeys taken by people with disabilities, compared to 1% for people without disabilties.
We all need cabs for quick, reliable transportation.
When we are running late for job interviews, we need cabs. When we decide spur-of-the-moment to see a show, we need cabs.
When our family members are rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night, we need cabs.
The taxicab industry, though private, has for all intents and purposes become a public mode of transportation. In fact, in many areas, the District’s cab service is the only mode of transportation available. It is time for the DC Council, along with taxicab companies, to accept the economic, moral, and legal necessities of deploying wheelchair-accessible cabs.
100% of them.
Comments
Submitted by Dang at 08:51 PM on August 20, 2012