Very Smart Taxicab Meter

The new DC taxicab rates will be effective from April 21, 2012 and there is no need to wait that date to calibrate for the new fare. There is such an smart meter called Pulsar 2030R that does the trick, it is small and highly sophisticated and it can be preprogrammed before the effective day, so the new rates will automatically show on the meter display at 12:01 am, April 21, 2012. 
Now as far as I know, USA Cab company already started this service of pregramming this meter to reduce the crowd and long line of drivers for calibration on April 21, 2012.   

New fare effective soon

   New fare will be effective on April 21, 2012. Every driver should start to calibrate their Taximeter to the new fare from April 21, 2012 till the end of May, 2012.
You can still use old rate till the end of May, but once you calibrate your meter to the new fare, then there is no more extra passenger surcharge unless you have a VAN. 


$1 Fuel surcharge per trip will still be charged to the passengers with the new rate or the old rate until it expires on June 20, 2012. 

updated proposed Age of Taxicab

This Proposal is not yet final,  if agreed by the DC Taxicab commissioners tomorrow then it will go back to the DC Register for 15 days public comments.

 * No Vehicle can be registered as a Taxicab that is more than 5 model years old or accumulated more than 300,000 miles and no vehicle may remain in service that is more than 7 model years older or accumulated  more than 400,00 miles.

following is the schedule of removing older taxicabs already in service. Disposal date was changed to January 1st of the listed disposal year instead of December 31st. With this change,  drivers yet again will loose ONE year of preparing and saving to replace and dispose their supposedly older taxicabs. They are already facing the lost of almost all extra surcharges, including but not limited to the extra passenger surcharge, fuel surcharge and personal service surcharge.

5 YEAR REMOVAL PLAN

Disposal Year**                            Model Year

 2013                                              1997 and older

 2014                                              2000 - 1998

 2015                                              2002 - 2001

 2016                                              2004 - 2003

 2017                                              2005 - below

** Vehicles must go out of service on January 1st of the year listed

Finally, Taxi Fare Increase is here

According to the latest information, DC Taxicab Commission Chairman Ron Linton said that district cabs are  going to start charging $2.16 per mile instead of the current $1.50 as soon as April 21, 2012 and also eliminating the $1.50 for each extra passenger surcharge and introducing $1.00 for each extra passenger surcharge up to $3.00 for Van taxicabs (maximum 3 extra passenger can be charged and the rest will ride for free).