Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

taken for a ride

On Thursday night, Rob, Dari and I caught a screening of Blade Runner at the Uptown in Cleveland Park. After the movie, we decided to head over to Open City in Woodley Park for a late dinner. We could have taken the Metro, but there was a cab right there in front of the theater and we figured, divided three ways, the fare shouldn’t be too bad.

I should mention at this point that I rarely take cabs in D.C. — in part because the zone system mystifies me. (That, and my car or the Metro usually can get me where I need to go.) For those unfamiliar with the system, a quick primer: Unlike in most cities, D.C. cabs do not have meters (for now, at least). Instead, they work off a system where the city is divided into a series of zones. The more zones you pass through, the higher your fare. At the end of the ride, the driver tells you how much you owe. There is no meter or obvious display of the fare you will have to pay, though you can figure it out if you understand how your route fits into the zone map (PDF) on the back of your driver’s seat.

Which brings me to our cab ride on Thursday night. Three people, .8 miles, less than five minutes. Our total: $11.80. I totally thought the driver had cheated us.

Using the fare calculator tool at the D.C. Taxicab Commission Web site, however, I see that $11.80 was the correct fare. We crossed a zone boundary, meaning we had to pay a two-zone fare ($8.80), plus $1.50 for each additional passenger (so, $3).

All for a .8 mile trip.

It makes me even happier that D.C. has decided to transition over to a meter system by April 1, 2008. Granted, the “drop fee” (the amount you pay just to get in the car, before the per-mile charges) will still be rather high — $4, compared to $2.50 in New York City or $2.75 in Arlington. Assuming the extra passenger fees would still apply, my Thursday taxi ride would cost in the neighborhood of $8 using the new metered fare system. (Still high enough that we should have considered just walking, but not as ridiculous.) The key difference, though, is that I’d be able to see my fare ticking up up up during the course of the trip, so there’s no surprise when the final fare is given.