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If you take a cab during Metrorail’s full closure on Wednesday, be prepared to share it with someone else.
The D.C. Taxicab Commission has issued an emergency administrative measure authorizing operators to pick up multiple passengers from taxicab stands or within one mile of Metro stations. These riders can be dropped off at different destinations, and the issuance explicitly prohibits demand-based (“surge”) pricing. Operators also cannot “solicit or accept” payments on top of what’s displayed by their meters, DCTC states.
“Shared rides shall be charged as follows: as each passenger reaches his or her destination, the metered fare shall be paid by the passenger(s) leaving the taxicab, at which time there shall be a new flag drop and the passenger(s) remaining in the group shall pay in the same manner until the last passenger(s) arrives at his or her destination and the final metered taxicab fare is then paid,” the measure explains. “There shall be a new flag drop for each leg of the trip.” (The flag drop means a new base fare will be charged to riders.)
According to DCTC, operators will be allowed to ask riders where they’re headed before they enter cabs to organize shared rides—a practice that’s usually barred to prevent destination discrimination. (Riders who wish to register complaints can do so here.) The majority of the District’s taxi stands are located at hotels:
Photo by Darrow Montgomery; screenshots via DCTC