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DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TAXICAB COMMISSION
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NOTICE OF EMERGENCY AND PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The District of Columbia Taxicab Commission, pursuant to the authority set forth in sections 8(a) and 8(b)(1)(C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (I), and (J) of the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission Establishment Act of 1985, effective March 25, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-97; D.C. Official Code § 50-307 (a) and (b)(1)(C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (I), and (J)), section 105 of the 2005 District of Columbia Omnibus Authorization Act, approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2023; D.C. Official Code § 50-381(a) (2009 Supp)), Mayor's Order, 2007-231, dated October 17, 2007, and Mayor's Order 2009-104, dated June 15, 2009, hereby gives notice of the adoption on an emergency basis of an amendment to Chapter 8 (Operation of Taxicabs) of Title 31 (Taxicabs and Public Vehicles for Hire) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).
The amendment to subsection 801.5 of Chapter 8 will clarify that the nineteen dollar ($19) fare cap was not intended to apply to a round trip fare, and was intended only to apply to a trip in one (1) direction. The proposed amendment will establish and clarify that the nineteen ($19) fare cap applies only to one (1) way trips to a stated destination within the District of Columbia and that payment is due upon arrival to that original destination.
This emergency action is necessary to alleviate an ambiguity in the regulations which has led to repeated disputes between taxicab operators and the riding public. Emergency action is therefore necessary for the immediate protection of public safety.
This emergency rule was adopted at a Commission public hearing on July 14, 2010, and became effective on July 22, 2010. The emergency rule will expire one hundred twenty (120) days after its effective date or upon publication of a Notice of Final Rulemaking in the D.C. Register, whichever occurs first.
The Commission also gives notice of its intent to take final rulemaking action to adopt these proposed rules (which are identical to the emergency rules) in not less than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.
Chapter 8 (Operation of Taxicabs) of Title 31 (Taxicabs and Public Vehicles for Hire) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations is amended as follows:
Subsection 801.5 is amended to read as follows:
801.5 Except for declared snow emergency fares provided for in § 804, the regular metered fare listed in § 801.3, not including extra charges and surcharges listed in § 801.6, shall not exceed nineteen dollars ($19) for any one (1) way trip originating and ending in the District of Columbia. Upon arrival to the stated destination, the meter shall be stopped and the fare shall be paid. If the passenger then requests transport to another destination, the new destination shall be recorded and the meter shall be started anew to calculate a new trip.
Copies of the proposed rulemaking can be obtained at the Commission’s website at dctc.dc.gov or by contacting Dena C. Reed, General Counsel and Secretary to the Commission, District of Columbia Taxicab Commission, 2041 Martin Luther King, Jr., Avenue, S.E., Suite 204, Washington, D.C. 20020. Any person desiring to file written comments on the proposed rulemaking action may submit their written comments to the above address not later than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C Register.
