John Matthews – WMAL
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Hiring someone to get around town is no longer exclusive a matter of hailing cab, and the city agency in charge of regulating that practice has taken note of that.
As such, as of next Tuesday, the D.C. Taxicab Commission will be taking on a new name – the District of Columbia Department of For-Hire Vehicles.
The change is more than cosmetic. As a city government entity, the commission’s director, Ernest Chrappah now becomes a Department head, and thanks to new legislation passed by the City Council, he’ll be overseeing a new 11-member advisory council made up of cab drivers, taxicab company representatives, tourism officials and city residents.
Despite the new name, however, one thing the Department won’t have the authority to do is regulate ride-hailing apps, including Uber and Lyft, much to the chagrin of cab companies and the Teamsters Union, which represents 2,000 independent cab drivers.
Since Uber has risen to dominate the for-hire market in DC, cabbies have reported a sharp drop in business, hamstrung by higher fares and lacking the technology to compete with the smart phone apps that make services like Uber so attractive.
About the only advantage that remains for cab drivers is their ability to be flagged down by customers. The Department of For-Hire Vehicles will maintain the authority to enforce existing rules, which prohibit Uber and Lyft drivers from being hailed by customers.
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