Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-08
35CENT RATE CABS
|. TO GET HEARING ON
USING NO METERS
Public Utilities Commission
to Pass on Charges of
New Companies.
CODE NOW REQUIRES
CLOCKS ON VEHICLES
Amount Of Money Earned by Firms
to Be Determining Factor
in Decision.

The vexed question Of regulation Of
the new 35-cent cabs is expected to be
thrashed out at public hearing within
the next Is or 20 days. Two concerns
have asked the Public Utilities Com
mission to approve their rate, which is
35 cents within the city proper, with
additional zone rates for suburban
hauls. Commissioner Harleigh H. Hart
man said today that although neither
application had come across his desk,
they would undoubtedly be considered
at the commissions next meeting
Thursday and that at that time date
for the public hearing would probably
be set.
He stated that no rates would be
approved until after a public hearing.
Rates for the Diamond Cab Co. were
recently approved without a public
hearing on their petition, but Mr. Hart
man explained that the Diamond COM
pany had discussed its rates at the
hearing last year on the commission
proposal to establish a new taxicab
code, and that a further hearing was
unnecessary. Since the rates of no 35-
cent cab came up for discussion at that
hearing or any other, he said, a separate
hearing must be held.
nave NO Meters.
The 35-cent cabs carry no meters,
and one of the rules in the taxi
cab code Is that all cabs operat-
ing as common carriers must have
meters checked and approved by the
commission. Some Of the flat-rate cabs
deny that they are common carriers,
while others admit it. at least construc-
lively, by their application for approval
Of rates. Mr.. Hartman said that the
meter question was discussed recently
and the commission decided not to at
tempt to enforce it against the fat
rate cabs at this time, as it might de-
eide after the public hearing to approve
the fiat rate. Since the meters cost
$3.50 apiece, he said the commission felt
it had better proceed with deliberation
ditional burden on the dat-rate con-
Germs.
The two concerns that have asked
for approval of their rates to date are
the City Proper Cab, apparently a one
man operation, and the Stop-Me Cab
Co, which is said TO operate q feet Of
$50 small cabs.
Another kink in the situation is the
problem whether the fiat rate cabs
should be allowed to use H tags: Legally,
only cabs with H tags are allowed to
pick up customers indiscriminately on
the streets, and those with L tags are
supposed to be housed In garages or by
call boxes and wait for requests for
their services from their headquarters.
AS to L tags, however, this rule is more
honored in the breach than in the OBJ
servance, and drivers are more or less
constantly being hailed into Police
Court by the hack inspectors for doing
an H tag business on tags.
Service Should Govern.
Mr.. Hartman said that the position OF
some of the concerns using L tags is
that since they are operating q livery
business they are not common carriers
and therefore not subject to the au-
thority of the commission. His view of
the situation, Mr.. Hartman explained,
rendered and not the type of tag carried
that should govern.
Mr.. Hartman pointed out that a
material element in the situation was
the question whether the hat-rate
operators are making any money, or
enough money to insure q stable bust
ness. He said that he had never been
able to secure any reliable figures on
the situation, as the ones he had seen
did not take into consideration depreci-
alton, cost OF rubber, or wages for the
driver.
Since the operating life Of a cab Is
only slightly In excess Of one year, and
In some cases as low as seven months,
he said, the omission of depreciation
alone would make the figures worth
less. Should the present hat-rate COM
panies show that they are making
money, it might become the duty of the
commission to reduce the rates on all
cabs to those rates. If it appears that
they are headed to bankruptcy, rather
than see them ruin the entire taxi in
dustry by cut-throat competition, 1t
might be necessary to order the flat-rate
concerns to increase their rates.