On October 1, 2014, the Washington, D.C. City Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee continued to ignore the concerns of taxi drivers and pushed through a bill which creates an unfair playing field for the taxi industry. Three members of the committee, Mary Cheh, Kenyan McDuffie, and David Grosso voted to pass the “Vehicle-for-hire Innovation Amendment Act of 2014”. This bill legitimizes private-vehicles like UberX, Sidecar, and Lyft. This bill does not require:

• Fingerprint background checks (No identity check)
• Government oversight (No reporting)
• Limits on the number of vehicles (unlimited cars)
• Limits on the number of driver (unlimited drivers)
• Jurisdiction limits (drivers can come from anywhere)

The Washington, D.C. Taxi Operators Association, affiliated with Teamsters Local 922, demands that the government deregulate the taxi Industry. The association demands fairness! Councilmembers Tommy Wells and Jim Graham pointed out that a street hail should not be the line between burdensome regulation and free rein. The association demands a level playing field. The taxi drivers demand that the Council:

• Get rid of Face ID (it is not needed now)
• Get rid of H-tag (what is the point of having this now)
• Get rid of PSP’s (drivers can chose their credit card service)
• Get rid of out of state fees (drivers won’t pay the $100)
• Get rid of one stop (drivers won’t pay the $50)
• Get rid of DMV inspection
• Get rid of the overbearing fines and fees

Taxi drivers need action now:

1. D.C. taxi drivers are urged to come to Local 922 to pick up fliers about the planned protest scheduled at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 8. Drivers are asked to help pass them out to fellow cab drivers
2. Taxi drivers are urged to come to the Legislative meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7 in Room 500 of the Wilson Building.
3. Drivers are urged to come demonstrate on Oct. 8 in the international protest day. It starts at 10:30 a.m. at Hains Point.

 

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