LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF DC CAB DRIVERS, May 22, 2011
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Title 31 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations offers the legal framework that governs the taxicab industry. Wednesday, May 11, Interim DC Taxicab Commission Chair Dena Reed held a hearing on her proposed amendments to Chapters 6 and 8 of Title 31.
Ms. Reed’s many suggested changes include forcing drivers to buy a new vehicle every five years, as well as giving hack inspectors much greater authority, including the ability to levy a $1,000 fine and even revoke a driver’s license for tires that are over- or underinflated.
The D.C. Taxicab Commission – which does not have a single taxicab driver on it – has held just one public hearing on Ms. Reed’s proposed amendments. At the May 11 public hearing, on the walls of the Taxicab Commission were signs that read, “NO TELEVISION CAMERAS. NO VIDEO TAPING. NO AUDIO TAPING.”
In a phone conversation with TheFightBack Interim Chair Dena Reed explained that having the public meeting recorded would be “disruptive” because there are taxicab “drivers who take a different attitude when a camera is on.”
At the May 11 hearing Abebe Abadi questioned the interim chair about her proposal to force drivers to buy a new car every five years. Ms. Reed responded that she was attempting “to modernize the fleet.”
[Abebe Abadi questioning Interim Chair Dena Reed]
Last week on The Voice of DC Cab Drivers Haimanot Bizuayehu, chair of UVC and board member of The Small Business Association of DC Taxicab Drivers, discussed the proposed amendments to Title 31, as well as the creation of a petition.
[Haimanot Bizuayehu from The Voice of DC Cab Drivers, May 15]
There are just nine days remaining for comments to be submitted to the D.C. Taxicab Commission regarding the proposed changes to Chapters 6 and 8 of Title 31.
You can email your comments to the D.C. Taxicab Commission at dctc3@dc.gov or you can mail your comments to the D.C. Taxicab Commission, 2041 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave, SE, Suite 204, Washington, DC 20020, Attention: Dena Reed. For more information visit dctaxi.dc.gov or call 202-645-6018.
You can find the proposed amendments to Title 31 at the D.C. Taxicab Commission website (dctaxi.dc.gov): Under “DCTC News” click on “DCTC Announces Publication of Proposed Amendments to Chapter 6 and Chapter 8 of Title 31 of the DCMR.” Then click on “Proposed Rules.” Scroll down to pages 3774 – 3805.
The petition that Haimanot discussed on last week’s show is now circulating. It reads:
We, the undersigned licensed taxicab drivers in the District of Columbia sign this petition because we oppose the Taxicab Commission’s Proposed Rulemaking for many reasons, some of which follow:
1. This proposed rulemaking was undertaken in violation of DC Law, as there were no [industry representatives] on either the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission or the Commission’s Panels on Rates and Rules as required by the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission Establishment Act of 1985…
2. The proposed rulemaking gives the hack inspector and police officers more authority to stop taxicabs, even if they do not observe unlawful conduct. It increases fines and allows for the imposition of additional penalties out of proportion for a simple violation. For example, a driver can be fined $1,000 and have his hack license suspended, revoked, or not renewed if his tires are over or under inflated.
3. The proposed rules would cap the age of a taxicab at five years old. The new rules would force drivers to purchase a new automobile before their older one is paid off.
That is from the petition that is currently circulating among drivers. You can download a copy of the petition at TheFightBack.org.
You can also pick up and drop off petitions at the offices of Grand Cab Company, located at 1716 Rhode Island Ave, NE, or at the offices of Allied, Luxury and UCC, located at 2711 26th St, NE.
Each petition has room for ten signatures. Try and return the petitions – no matter how many signatures you get – by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.
I’ll have petitions with me each night at the gas station at 15th and U Streets, NW from around 8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Before we turn to the phones, I want to play a clip from Thursday’s NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt on TBD/NewsChannel8. DePuyt asked Mayor Vincent Gray his thoughts on both D.C.’s low meter rates, as well as the controversial medallion legislation.
Mayor Gray said, “When you compare us to other cities, our taxi rates are low.” On the subject of medallions Gray said, “We’re not looking to drive people out of business in the District of Columbia.”
[Mayor Gray on NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt]
Past shows of The Voice of DC Cab Drivers: