Evening star., 1946-08-03
Taxis Begin Charging
Uncontrolled Rates
For Virginia Trips

The sky was the limit today on
taxicab fares charged for travel
from Washington to the National
Airport, the Pentagon and adjacent
points in Virginia, following the
Public Utilities Commissions aban-
donment yesterday Of its control
over these points.
The commissions action abolish
ing subzones All and Al of the
zone charge chart, also abandoned
rate ceilings from the Army Air
Transport Command Terminal at
Gravelly Point and the Arlington
Farms residence halls.
Since 1943, the PUG had imposed
a single passenger zone charge of
80 cents for travel from the District
to these points. The group rate was
so cents per person.
Infringement Seen.
The PUG order followed an opin-
ion by the Corporation Counsel's
Office that regulation of taxicab
service to these points might in
fringe upon the province of the IN
terstate Commerce Commission. The
opinion was the outgrowth OF a
congressional act of October 81,
1945, which established Federal jur-
isdiction over the airport and de-
fined the Navy Annex and Arlington
Farms as being within Virginia al
though they occupy a Federal reser-
vation.
Also figuring in the decontrol or
der was dispute between local
hackers and airport limousine serv-
ice concessionaires, which f1ared
publicly last week when Harvey F..
Law, airport administrator, issued
written warnings to District taxi
drivers that they were violating reg
ulations by picking up passengers at
the terminal.
Airport Transport, Inc, has a con-
tract with the airport to furnish
limousine service from the terminal
into Washington at fiat rate of rs
cents passenger. Although the
District cabe rate of 80 cents for a
single passenger was greater, the
hackers group charge of so cents
undercut the Limousine fare.
The concession arrangement, which
has the blessing of the Civil Aero
nautics Administration, bans nom
concession vehicles from picking up
passengers at the airport except
when airport officials specifically
call for them. Loathe to "deadhead"
back to the District after a trip to
the terminal, District hackers have
been violating the rule, airport Off
cials said.
No Official Ceiling.
Informed of the PUG order, w. E.
Nichols, general manager of Airport
Transport, Inc, said the concession
had no immediate intention of rails
ing its 75-cent fare.
However, there was nothing to bar
District taxi drivers from charging
whatever they thought they could
get. PUG Chairman James H. Flan-
agan acknowledged this in publish
ing the decontrol order yesterday.
"All we can do now is recommend
to the public that it reach a price
agreement with a taxi driver before
setting out for the airport or the
Pentagon.'
The PUG order quoted from the
act to establish a boundary line be-
tween the District and Virginia at
the present mean high-water mark
on the Virginia shore of the Po-
tomac, adding: THE act provides
that exclusive jurisdiction of the
Washington National Airport shall
be In the United States" s4
The same act. the order contin-
ued, has clearly established sub
zones All and Al to be within the
Commonwealth of Virginia" It
concluded from these facts that the
two subzones and the charges estab-
lished for them should be deleted.