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Starting today, the minimum price of a D.C. cab ride goes up from $3 to $3.25. But there’s a catch.
In order to charge the additional 25 cents, drivers need to get the long-awaited credit card machines installed in their cabs. The drivers have until August 31 to get the machines. From now until the end of August, then, the price of your cab trip will vary a little based on whether the car has complied yet with the new requirement.
Neville Waters, a spokesman for the D.C. Taxicab Commission, says there’s evidence that the extra 25 cents is inspiring cars to start accepting credit cards before the deadline. One cab fleet, for example, is trying to get a 400 taxis serviced with the new machines this week. “The sooner they can get that installed, the sooner they can get the additional 25 cents,” Waters says.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery