Evening star., 1944-12-28
Outlook. Dark
On Cab Service,
Finds
Lack of Mechanics
And Age of Autos
Hardest Problems

Steadily shrinking taxicab service
was in prospect for Washington to-
day as repair bottlenecks, plus more
intensive demands on rapidly aging
cabs, combined to provide severe
headache to the industry here, a
survey by The Star revealed
The gas shortage was bad enough,
say fleet operators and individual
drivers alike, but the toughest nut
to crack is the long-term problem
posed by superannuated vehicles, in
ferior tires, tubes and gas and the
growing shortage of parts and
trained mechanics.
1000 Idle Daily.
OF the Districts 5,281 taxicabs, as
high as 1000 are kept idle every day,
one large fleet operator said. The
idle" figure is double the number
l8 months ago, he said, and Is likely
to increase more swiftly in the fu-
ture as present vehicles veer toward
the junk pile.
Virtually all cabs on the streets
today are at least 4 years old. Most
have built up mileage which has hit
the 100000 mark, and many more
have exceeded 800, 900 miles.
Right now feet operators, associa-
tions and individuals here would be
on the market for "at least. 5000"
new cabs if they could get them, one
prominent figure In the industry es-
timated.
Costs Are Higher.
Stuck, however, with vehicles
which in ordinary time would have
been traded in long ago, The Dis
trict's 1852 full-time and part time
drivers are faced with heavier op-
Grating costs, enforced layoffs until
repairs can be made and a fantastic
number of flats" attributed to syn
thetic tubes and tires recapped as
many as four times.
Rheumatic tendencies of the pres
ent fleet of taxis roaming Wash
ington was reflected at the last
District safety inspection in Sep
tember, 1t. Joseph Harrington, Dis
trict hack inspector, pointed out,
when a far larger number than
usual were ordered to make re-
pairs. The cabbies' main complaint,
he said, involved the shortage of
garage mechanics and repair parts.
One company operating a fleet re-
ported it normally has about so"
cabs parked on the lot" awaiting
repairs. Other cabs operated by
this firm frequently are repaired
elsewhere, with the drivers paying
the cost.
Need Dozen Mechanics.
A dozen auto mechanics would be
Immediately If they were
available, the manager of this COM
pany said. I'VE just can't find
them" he added.
According to Public Utilities Com
figures war-swollen WASH
lngton today has Al more taxis
than 1t did at the time the number
was frozen at 5,24O on September l,
1912. But the industry estimates
that seryiceable taxis on the streets
are actually 500 fewer than at the
time of the freeze.
At the outbreak of war. District
taxis totaled 4,751, the PUG said.
This number shot up rapidly until
the ODT freeze order designed to
conserve gas and tires. Men who
held licenses prior to entering the
service, and who were relicensed
subsequent to their discharge, are
responsible for the increase in the
total since the freeze order was
the PUG explained.
Tire trouble was put forth by one
association manager as the great
est single cause Of a loss of man
hours.
To-day there are fewer accidents
because drivers are more careful" :"
he said. They know that If they
have a crackup it means their
But there's no way to
prevent flats and. boy, everybody's
having plenty nowadays. I'd ven
ture to say we have fat every
l 900 miles 1t used to be every
25,0O0." Overlooking as a result Of
the doubling-up policy also takes its
toll of aXles and springs, he said,