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Out of America: The city's notoriously laissez-faire taxi industry faces regulation of fares and routes at last. But how should they be painted?
Washington DC is trying to overhaul its taxi industry. But in this weird, wonderful and anarchic universe, nothing is ever simple – not even what colour they should be.
London's (mostly) black taxis, with their distinctive shape, are as much a part of the city's brand as red buses, Big Ben or the Changing of the Guard. Ditto New York, whose yellow cabs long since achieved movie-star status. But what about the capital of the most powerful country on earth?
Well, yes, we do have black cabs. We have yellow cabs, too. For that matter, we have green ones, red ones, beige ones, blue ones. Indeed, if you're fussy about what colour taxi you travel in, on Washington's streets there's just the one for you. We have cab companies and solo operators. We have dirty cabs, not-so-dirty cabs, even a few clean ones. We have old cabs, not-so-old ones and even a few new ones.
We have some cabs on which a lit light means "for hire", and others that turn out to be either already taken or not available. One way or another, anything goes. Washington's taxis are an urban jungle on wheels, where practically anyone can jump into the business.
When it comes to taxis, Washington and New York are polar opposites. The city that symbolises capitalism and free enterprise runs its taxi industry like a medieval guild. New York may be about 14 times more populous than Washington, but it has only twice as many cabs. The number is limited by a strict system of medallions – an aluminium badge or licence on the front – of which roughly 13,000 have been issued, and which sell for up to $1m apiece.
Washington has no medallion system, with the result that it probably has more cabs per inhabitant than any major city in the country, 12 per 1,000 residents compared with 2.6 in Chicago, 1.7 in New York, and 3.1 in London. It's not quite Moscow, where you can hitch a paid ride in any private car. But in the American capital, vilified as a symbol of bureaucracy and regulation run amok, pretty well anything goes when it comes to cabs.
Caveat emptor should be the industry's unofficial motto. Needless to say, cabbies here aren't subject to anything like the Knowledge, the exam every driver of a black London cab must pass. Even a reasonable knowledge of English isn't a requirement. And if they don't want to take you somewhere in "the District" – even though by law they're bound to – too bad.
For whatever reason, it's always been like that. Washington may be a seat of empire, home to a government that has sent men to the moon. But amazingly, until only four years ago, taxis here didn't even have meters. Instead, the city was divided into roughly concentric zones, with fares depending on how many zones were crossed during a journey.
Mas Inf: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/big-yellow-taxi-not-in-washington-dc-8430095.html
Visite nuestros Blogs: Guia de Buenos Aires Guia de Argentina Buenos Aires Guide Agenda de Buenos Aires Mi Buenos Aires Tango Táxi em Buenos Aires Mundo Gay Alquiler Temporario Tus Sabores Como llegar a ... Como ir.. Visite nuestra Web: :Taxi Web
Washington DC is trying to overhaul its taxi industry. But in this weird, wonderful and anarchic universe, nothing is ever simple – not even what colour they should be.
London's (mostly) black taxis, with their distinctive shape, are as much a part of the city's brand as red buses, Big Ben or the Changing of the Guard. Ditto New York, whose yellow cabs long since achieved movie-star status. But what about the capital of the most powerful country on earth?
Well, yes, we do have black cabs. We have yellow cabs, too. For that matter, we have green ones, red ones, beige ones, blue ones. Indeed, if you're fussy about what colour taxi you travel in, on Washington's streets there's just the one for you. We have cab companies and solo operators. We have dirty cabs, not-so-dirty cabs, even a few clean ones. We have old cabs, not-so-old ones and even a few new ones.
We have some cabs on which a lit light means "for hire", and others that turn out to be either already taken or not available. One way or another, anything goes. Washington's taxis are an urban jungle on wheels, where practically anyone can jump into the business.
When it comes to taxis, Washington and New York are polar opposites. The city that symbolises capitalism and free enterprise runs its taxi industry like a medieval guild. New York may be about 14 times more populous than Washington, but it has only twice as many cabs. The number is limited by a strict system of medallions – an aluminium badge or licence on the front – of which roughly 13,000 have been issued, and which sell for up to $1m apiece.
Washington has no medallion system, with the result that it probably has more cabs per inhabitant than any major city in the country, 12 per 1,000 residents compared with 2.6 in Chicago, 1.7 in New York, and 3.1 in London. It's not quite Moscow, where you can hitch a paid ride in any private car. But in the American capital, vilified as a symbol of bureaucracy and regulation run amok, pretty well anything goes when it comes to cabs.
Caveat emptor should be the industry's unofficial motto. Needless to say, cabbies here aren't subject to anything like the Knowledge, the exam every driver of a black London cab must pass. Even a reasonable knowledge of English isn't a requirement. And if they don't want to take you somewhere in "the District" – even though by law they're bound to – too bad.
For whatever reason, it's always been like that. Washington may be a seat of empire, home to a government that has sent men to the moon. But amazingly, until only four years ago, taxis here didn't even have meters. Instead, the city was divided into roughly concentric zones, with fares depending on how many zones were crossed during a journey.
Mas Inf: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/big-yellow-taxi-not-in-washington-dc-8430095.html
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Visite nuestros Blogs: Guia de Buenos Aires Guia de Argentina Buenos Aires Guide Agenda de Buenos Aires Mi Buenos Aires Tango Táxi em Buenos Aires Mundo Gay Alquiler Temporario Tus Sabores Como llegar a ... Como ir.. Visite nuestra Web: :Taxi Web
