|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 Let's Talk
Denise Rolark Barnes
Columnist Page
Friday, May 13, 2005; Page 23
A Welcome Change at the D.C. Taxi Cab Commission
It is a rare occasion that D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams actually fires someone in his administration. That was not the case this week when it was reported that Lee E. Williams, chairman of the D.C. Taxicab Commission was let go from his $103,000 a year job reportedly due to complaints about mismanagement.
Immediately Mayor Williams announced that Causton A. Toney will serve as acting chair of the commission. “Causton Toney,” Williams said, “is very familiar with the issues before the Taxicab Commission; he chaired the task force on taxicab reform which looked at best practices for regulating the taxicab industry. He will bring stability and direction to the staff and to the commission while he makes sure that the public is better served through better record-keeping, better information management and more effective deployment of hack inspectors.”
The public will be better served. Let’s just hope so.
Three years ago, I boarded a cab at the cabstand in front of the J.W. Marriott Hotel on 14th Street, N.W. It was about 7 p.m. The driver asked me where I was going. I told him my address in Southeast, D.C. He immediately rejected my request and demanded that I get out of his cab. “I cannot take you there,” he shouted. “Please, get out now!”
For some strange reason I was shocked. This has happened to my husband on several occasions– a tall Black man even when he was dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase, but who happened to be going home in Southeast. But why, I wondered, was this cabbie denying me? What threat did I offer? I went so far as to tell him that my house is less than two blocks from the freeway; he could get back onto the freeway with no trouble. But he shouted to me, “Get out now!”
So, I warned him, “If I get out of this cab, I will have no choice but to report you to the D.C. Taxicab Commission, and be sure that is exactly what I will do, sir?” He didn’t care. He shouted for me to leave his cab immediately and that is what I did.
Now, for those who have shared my experience, I have since been advised that in the future, I should remain in the cab and demand that the driver call the police to have me removed. That’s a thought, but maybe next time. This time, however, I took the route I thought was best. I immediately filed a complaint, expecting to see him again in front of a judge at the D.C. Taxicab Commission, where we would tell our respective stories. Of course, I would win and finally have the satisfaction of knowing there would be a fine levied against him to teach him a lesson about how not to serve the public.
A year later, a hearing was held but the driver did not show up. By default, the hearing examiner ruled against the driver and that’s where the story ends.
My story ends there but the denial of service to a host of residents of this city continues because of a taxicab commission that has refused to hold drivers or the companies that hire them accountable for their actions. My heart goes out to the families of those drivers who were victims to the violence that nags our city. And I also have a deep admiration for those drivers who have supported their families, bought homes, sent their children to college on a hacker’s income. But the system has got to work.
Mr. Williams may not be the sole source of the problems that have resulted in the poor management at the Taxicab Commission, but the time for a change was needed in hopes that all D.C. residents and others who pass through are better served.
For Denise Rolark Barnes send email to drbarnes@washingtoninformer.com |
|
|
|