Racist Design of the DC Taxi Zone System

[Karl Rudder]

The racist taxicab service to the predominantly Afro-American population of DC needs to be openly examined and eliminated. The unique DC taxicab zone system is everyday insulting Afro-American residents being charged an additional zone fare due to nothing more than their need to cross 12th St. NE, 19th St. NE, South Dakota Ave NE, 42nd St. NE, Alabama Ave SE and many other zone boundaries in the residential areas of DC yet white people can employ a DC taxicab to pay little for traveling much longer distances in downtown and NW areas of the city.

The potential use of a proposed "Meter Zone System" is continuing to insult the predominantly Afro-American residents of DC by the fact that regardless of the use of the term "Meter" the same zone system now in use will still be the basis on which DC taxicab fares will be computed by even a very misleading "Meter Zone System".

The DC Taxicab Zone Fare System is not an equitable means to compute taxicab fares and for 75 years it has failed to serve as a reliable means to record and collect the tax revenue that is due for DC taxicab companies and drivers. Every other major city in this entire world respectfully provides quality taxicab service to their residents by using a meter to equitably compute the taxicab fare which is based on the actual cost of transporting a passenger from their point of origin to their point of destination. The ability to be able to reliably record and collect the tax revenue that is due from the earnings of taxicab companies and drivers is a very important reason why every major city in this world uses a meter to compute taxicab fares in their communities.

Mayor Fenty is due very soon to answer to a Congressional order that he decide on installing meters in DC taxicabs or maintaining the use of the inequitable design of the very unique DC taxicab zone fare system. My address to Mayor Fenty as he was a member of the Public Works and the Environment Committee failed to stimulate him to address this issue in respect to the initial and still standing government and court decisions that had denied, "any version of the zone system to replace meters in DC taxicabs." More know about his recent address to an unfortunate fire to the Eastern shopping mall than they know of his review and address to the 75 years of an a unique and very corrupt DC Taxicab Zone Fare System.

I am composing this address to DC City Council members due to my not anticipating Fenty to suddenly have his response to Congress to carry any responsible sense of duty and have him use such an opportunity to openly address the corrupt origin of the unique DC taxicab zone system fare structure.

To attempt to assist DC City Council members and make up for the failure of any previous "study" on the feasibility of the DC taxicab zone system I will copy four sheets of data and distribute this essential data to every DC City Council member as well as to many DC residents, taxicab drivers and tourists. Believe it or not all previous efforts to "study" the DC Taxicab Zone Fare System completely failed to refer to the initial government and Court decisions that specifically denied, "any version of the zone system to replace the use of meters in DC taxicabs."

In respect to the failure of all previous "studies" on the DC taxicab zone system I will distribute:

1) Copy of DC Public Utilities Commission order no. 956 that was issued on November 6,1931. This PUC decision listed 20 reasons to support their decision to."deny any aspect of the zone system to replace the use of meters in DC taxicabs." I will attempt to stimulate all 20 reasons of order no. 956 to be carefully be reviewed by circling and highlighting the numbers to reasons 3,4,5,6, 9,10,12,16,17 & 19 of PUC order no. 956.

2) Copy of a letter addressed to DC City Council member John Wilson on June 27, 1975. This letter for the first time since 1933 made a very quiet and brief referral to the fact that the Commission in 1931 had issued order no. 956,"requiring the installation of taximeters in District taxicabs." This letter refers to the fact that PUC order no. 956 had been affirmed by the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia and that the U.S. Court of Appeals had affirmed Judge Adkins decision.

This letter then goes on to state to DC City Council member John Wilson in 1975 that, "However, in the meantime, Congress included language in the District of Columbia Appropriations Act for FY 1933,47 Stat.343, which prohibited the expenditure of funds appropriated by that Act for the purpose of requiring the installation of taxi meters." This document will prove that the unique DC Taxicab Zone System wasn't ever approved not did Congress ever attempt to overrule any court decisions. Congress played a legislative game and only through the insulting DC Appropriations Act did Congress disallow the DC government to even discuss installing meters.

3) Copy of the very revealing Washington Post editorial for November 13,1971 that was entitled, "The Taxicab Rider" that will expose the role of Rep. Cannon as being the author of the restrictive provision to the 1933 DC Appropriations Act. On the other side piece of this data will be copy of the September 7, 1996 Washington Post editorial that was entitled, "New Cab Fares--But Old Problems that will allow DC residents and tourists to know that the DC City Council had passed and Mayor Barry had actually signed a bill that required for all DC taxicabs to be installed with meters by Sept. 1, 1998. .

4) Copy of the 12/07/71 Washington Post article that was very responsibly entitled, "Ban on Taxi Meters In Force Since '32 Will Be Challenged." This article began by stating, "The prohibition of the use of taxi meters in Washington that has been attached to the D.C. Appropriations Act annually since the 1930's will be challenged this year for the first time anyone can remember."

The article goes on to refer to, "John Rudder, president of the United Brotherhood of DC Taxi drivers told Inouye's panel, "The case for meters is so apparent that it begs the question of sanity to think otherwise." This article fails to refer to the fact that an effective strike by the Brotherhood of DC Taxi Drivers during rush hours at Union Station and in the Capital Hill area had been the element that produced those sudden Senate hearings of Sen. Inouye's DC Appropriations Committee.

The other side of this page of data will carry copy of the September 8, 2007 letter to the editor of the Afro-American newspaper that I had composed that I had entitled, "Congressional Corruption of the DC Taxicab Industry."

In my view, the common defense by supporters of the DC taxicab zone system that, "all DC taxicab companies and drivers as well as residents prefer the zone system over the use of the meter" is very insulting and is only able to be expressed due to the continued failure of national and local politicians as well as any aspect of the major news media to ever responsibly research and address the racist design and use of a very unique DC taxicab zone fare system.

Fortunately this country eliminated slavery in America and was able to finally afford essential civil rights to women and Afro-American citizens by the strength of the principles of law that were involved in respect to those issues. It is important to respect that ending slavery in America, denying women and Afro-American citizens the right to vote, work or for American children to being able to go to school was never decided merely on the basis of who had or had not preferred such essential improvements in American society.

My fortune in addressing the corrupt regulation of the DC Taxicab Industry is that the Truth may be hidden but it cannot be changed!

Edited October 13, 2007 by Karl Rudder