A Meter Theory

Brad Plumer glosses several theories as to what possible causal mechanism might lead from meters to the end of the independent taxi driver. This one seems most plausible to me:

It's a good question. I've got two guesses. One is that, right now, it's very hard for big cab companies to enter the D.C. taxi market in the absence of meters, since there's no easy way for a large company to monitor its drivers under the zone system and see how much they're making. That has partly helped independent cab drivers flourish. Scrap the zone system, and suddenly the big boys will start moving in.

I can imagine someone thinking this, but it doesn't make a ton of sense. There aren't some huge economies of scale in the taxi business that big companies could plausibly take advantage of to drive small proprietors out of business. The plausible story by which the owner-operated cab dies is that a restrictive licensing regime is put into place which transforms the taxi trade from a labor-intensive business into a capital-intensive one. And, indeed, such a transformation is plausible, since it's happened in America's other big cities. But it's important to understand that the most plausible constituency for such a move is current taxi drivers looking to restrict competition, so DC's cabbies really have it within their power to prevent this.

At any rate, in my reporting on these sentiments it's clear that differences of opinion exist among cabbies, and that anti-meter fervor seems much stronger among Ethiopian drivers than among others. Indeed, two different West African drivers have treated me to furious diatribes about the evils of the zone and their fervent longing for meters.

Comments

Drive your own car, hippie.

Posted by JFD | October 30, 2007 10:16 AM

There aren't some huge economies of scale in the taxi business that big companies could plausibly take advantage of to drive small proprietors out of business.

How could you possibly know that?

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | October 30, 2007 10:34 AM

"anti-meter fervor seems much stronger among Ethiopian drivers than among others. Indeed, two different West African drivers have treated me to furious diatribes about the evils of the zone and their fervent longing for meters."

Fascinatingly, country of origin opinions are even more granular.

Nigerian drivers are intensely in favor of a GPS based metering system, while Ghanian drivers are more in favor of an odometer based metering system.

Zambian drivers, like Ethiopian drivers, are anti-meter, but Zambian drivers prefer a reformed zone map. Kenyan drivers like the current zone map divisions, but want the zones renamed.

Posted by Petey | October 30, 2007 10:36 AM

These specific ethnic differences that you wouldn't expect always fascinate me. Why would West African drivers differ from East African drivers on this subject???

(Bringing this week's bloggin full circle, we need to know what Malawian drivers think, and how that differs from Malian drivers.)

Posted by Al | October 30, 2007 10:45 AM

At any rate, in my reporting on these sentiments

Where "reporting" is understood to mean "the time I spend in taxis talking to a couple random drivers." Now start asking them about foreign policy, Matt - that Friedman slot in the NYT can still be yours!

Posted by Christmas | October 30, 2007 10:45 AM

Obviously this connects to the well-known difference between East Africans (including Ethippians) and West Africans in Olympic running. East Africans usually dominate marathons, while West Africans dominate in sprinting. Their preference for longer distances means the East Africans prefer the zone system, which is most profitable for longer trips. For the sprints around downtown preferred by West Africans, meters will be more profitable.

Posted by old guy | October 30, 2007 10:55 AM

Don't you think people who are actually performing this job for upwards of 12 hours a day and depend on it for their livelihoods might know a bit more about it than general-interest pundits who consider it for 15 minutes a day, like you and McArdle?

Posted by Freddie | October 30, 2007 11:12 AM

The most obvious economy of scale for large cab companies is the ability to run an effective dispatch system, such that consumers who call it will be reliably assured that they will in fact get a cab promptly. Small operators can't do this. When I have tried to arrange for a cab by telephone in DC, my options have been much inferior to other market I know best, San Francisco.

OTOH, a large cab company doesn't need spend its time monitoring where its drivers go during the day. It would be foolish for a cab company to try to take a cut of the driver's proceeds, given the nature of the business. The drivers function much more like independent contractors. Better to charge each driver a flat fee for the use of the cab for the day, or so I would think. This is how the large companies do it in SF, FWIW.

Posted by Tyrone Slothrop | October 30, 2007 12:45 PM

I would surmise that the major attraction of the zone system for most DC cabbies is that it is so opaque that they can overcharge consumers fairly often, something they will not be able to do so easily with meters.

Posted by Tyrone Slothrop | October 30, 2007 12:56 PM

Apropos of my 12:56 pm, Plumer suggests that drivers can rip people off by taking a longer route. Of course, that has a cost to the driver as well, who can't use that time to find other fares.

Posted by Tyrone Slothrop | October 30, 2007 1:05 PM

In what way is the zone system opaque? The map of all the zones is RIGHT THERE in front of you in every cab. It's as transparent as can be.

Posted by adam | October 30, 2007 2:45 PM

In what way is the zone system opaque?

I have little problem interpreting the map, but you have to know the city to do it, as few streets which are not borders between zones are reflected. And I repeatedly have had cabbies try to overcharge me, apparently on the assumption that I can't figure out the right fare from the map, so I assume that they've found this generally is a useful strategy.

Posted by Tyrone Slothrop | October 30, 2007 5:01 PM

Until very recently, the zone maps were printed diagaonally, that is, with North oriented in the upper right hand corner of the map, and the maps are generally sealed in a plastic sleeve that is fixed, top and bottom, at knee height on the back of the driver's seat. To read the zone lines you have to lie sideways on the cab seat. At night you have to do this while sitting at a stop light under a street lamp. I found it easier to just pay the asking price.

Having said that, I've always thought the zone system was an effective way for out-of-towners to subidize the rides of locals. After my first year or so of riding in DC cabs, I almost never had questions or conflicts over the zone lines or fares.

Posted by mark | October 30, 2007 6:32 PM