Red.
It has been said it is the color of anger, danger and fear.
If that is the case then it may be fitting that the red is the color a D.C. Taxicab Commission recommended Wednesday to be the uniform color of all 7000 cabs in the nation's capital.
The D.C. Council passed a law in July 2012 that requires all taxis in the city to a uniform color.
Of course, agreeing on a color scheme has not been easy.
Some multi-color choices were roundly panned when they were proposed in December by D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray's (D) administration. Members of the D.C. Council said they were "appalled" by the "horrid" proposals.
While yellow may seem like the most obvious color of choice for taxis, the commission decided that yellow did not invoke enough city pride. According to the Washington Post, a report by the commission explained that red "is strongly associated" with the District:
It can be found in the District flag, on Circulator buses and Capital Bikeshare cycles, and in the uniforms of local sports teams, such as the Washington Capitals and D.C. United.
Fittingly, red will not become the official color of D.C. cabs without a fight.
According to the Washington City Paper, Yellow Cab Company president Vaughn Williams is not thrilled about the recommendation and believes it will hurt his company, which is widely known for its cabs' yellow and black color scheme.
"I have no kind words to say about the one-color scheme," said Williams, who said he plans to testify against the recommended hue.
D.C.'s mayor also hesitated to support the recommended new color and appeared to be worried that red cabs would cause confusion.
"That would look like a fire engine coming down the street, wouldn’t it," Gray told the Post.
While most hopefully can tell the difference between a red car and a firetruck, those who cannot are in luck.
It might be a long while before all taxicabs in the city are painted the commission's color of choice. The color must first be approved by the entire D.C. Taxicab Commission, a forum must be held for public comment, and even then, as the Washington Examiner pointed out, a majority of all cabs may not be painted red until 2018 as taxi drivers would not have to update their color-scheme until they update their vehicles, which a new city law gives drivers five years to do.
