WASHINGTON -- Planned taxi fare increases went into effect for cab rides in the nation's capital this weekend.
As the Washington Examiner reported on the changes, which took effect on Saturday:
The per-mile rate will move from $1.50 to $2.16, and the waiting fee, which kicks in any time a cab is moving less than 10 mph, will go up from $15 an hour to $25 an hour.
But taxi drivers won't be able to charge some of their previous extra fees under the new rules. The 50 cent bag fee is eliminated, as well as the $1 extra passenger fee, unless the cab is a van. The $1 gas fee is still in place.
The D.C. Taxicab Commission warns that although there are new rates in effect, not all taxi meters have been recalibrated, a process that will take until the end of next month:
Taking this into consideration, drivers may continue to operate under the old rates until re-calibration or the May 31, 2012 deadline. Citations will not be issued during this timeframe. All re-calibrated meters will have a red DCTC Seal attached. Meters must be used for “all” fares.
There is already some confusion. A reader told Prince of Petworth on Monday morning:
The cab driver already had his meter set for the new mileage rate but had no qualms about throwing on the $1.50 for the “additional passenger” charge. When pressed, he offered to take off the additional charge, but then balked at providing change to us as we departed the vehicle at our destination. We sorted it out, and will be reporting him to the cab commission.
"I have absolutely no idea," one Georgetown shopper told WJLA-TV. "I'm af the mercy of the taxi driver."
As the D.C. government presses ongoing taxicab reform, drivers have been expressing their frustration with the new rate structure, as The Washington Post reports.
“They made a mistake. . . . I don’t see this as an advantage," one cab driver told the Post. “Everyone in the region charges for extra passengers; everyone in the region charges for luggage.”